Economic and Social Council
Substantive session of 2009
Geneva, 6-31 July 2009
Item 7 (d) of the provisional agenda*
Coordination, programme and other questions: long-term programme of support
for Haiti
Summary
The present report contains the findings of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, based principally on its visit to Haiti in May 2009. The increased opportunities of the country to benefit from international support are presented, as well as the major challenges that remain to translate this renewed mobilization into tangible progress on the ground. The report highlights the responsibilities of all partners to ensure aid effectiveness, a prerequisite for sustained stability of Haiti. Regarding the main substantive areas for international assistance, the Group stresses the double challenges of providing immediate support to the population of Haiti, including through rapid job creation and foreign investments, and the need to continue in-depth support to communities, including in rural areas. The Group calls for simultaneous actions in these directions. The report concludes with recommendations addressed to the Haitian authorities and their international partners with a view to enhancing the impact of development assistance. As Haiti is at a crossroads, a continued mobilization by all is imperative to help the country avoid a relapse into social unrest.