Summary: 25 March 2010, New York - Opening remarks by Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, at "Building Back Better in Haiti," a conference for NGOs co-hosted with President William J. Clinton, UN Special Envoy for Haiti, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti, Paul E. Farmer, and InterAction President, Samuel A. Worthington, at New York University
It is an honour to be here today, with the Government of Haiti, the Office of UN Special Envoy, the conference on the future of Haiti, the best way to express what brings us together is Haiti´s own motto: "L'Union fait la force."
We have seen in Europe, in our own recent history, what a difference solidarity can make for millions of people. And we are determined to do our best to be part of the union which will make a difference in the lives of children, women and men who have survived the earthquake - and many of them, also decades of man-made turbulence and destruction.
Next week will be time for financial pledges - and I can assure you the European people will, as always, show generosity for those in need. We are less than a third of worldwide GDP but we provide 60% of development assistance worldwide. Even now, during the worst crisis of the last 50 years, we stick to our contributions to make the world better place for all.
Today I will focus on five key principles we wholeheartedly endorse:
1. First, follow the needs: we strive to provide humanitarian support across the country, not just in Port-au-Prince. 500,000 moved in with host families - we want to follow them, with food, water, medical care, but also schools and jobs.
2. Second, empower people: cash-for-work; agriculture; microcredit.
3. Third, long-term horizon for development, with focus on environmental sustainability and disaster preparedness.
4. Fourth, contingency planning for the rainy and hurricane season, as well as critical infrastructure and moving people from where they should not be.
5. Fifth, effectiveness and results. We are the number one donor in terms of volume; we want to be the number one donor in terms of results. In this respect, we need to focus on:
- Donor coordination and respect of each other's comparative advantage;
- Government of Haiti's responsibility for where money goes;
- Support of civil society because if the vision of Haiti's reconstruction is not shared by all, we will fail.
We also embrace a "whole island" approach. The new brotherhood we are now witnessing between Haiti and the Dominican Republic represents the best chance in decades to rebuild relations between the two neighbors.
When I flew over Léogane, it reminded me very much of the European cities after the Second World War: buildings and lives completely destroyed. Like Europe then, today Haiti starts from scratch but not alone. Building the whole of the country - and building it better than it was - is the very best memorial for the 300,000 people who lost their lives on January 12.
Ref: SP10-402EN
EU source: European Commission