Haiti Ambassador Donald Steinberg, Special Haiti Coordinator Statement before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs, Washington, DC, March 23, 2000. I welcome the opportunity to be with you this morning to discuss recent developments in Haiti and the Administration's efforts to address the challenges of promoting democracy, human rights, and economic recovery there. I just returned from my sixth visit to Haiti since November, and I look forward to an exchange of views with you on the road ahead. Pursuing American National Security Interests Since the early 1990s, Haiti has been a focal point of our efforts in the Western Hemisphere. Pursuing these objectives has been a huge challenge and the record has been decidedly mixed.
Democratic institutions are fragile at best.
Unemployment, crime, illiteracy, and poverty pose constant threats to stability. At a level of 99 per 1,000 live births per year, Haiti's infant mortality rate is nearly triple the Caribbean average of 38 per year. Events in Haiti were spiraling out of control in the early 1990s as a result of the coup d'etat that expelled then-President Aristide from office and established the de facto regime. There were also dire predictions that if American forces were used as part of an international effort to restore the democratically elected government, we would face huge casualties and decades of military engagement. Fortunately, this was not the case.