MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Haiti's reconstruction one year after the earthquake
12.1.2011
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Véronique De Keyser, Thijs Berman, Patrice Tirolien on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0023/2011
B7‑0032/2011
European Parliament resolution on Haiti's reconstruction one year after the earthquake
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolution of 10 February 2010 on the earthquake in Haiti,
– having regard to the Joint Statement of Vice-President and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, and the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian aid, Kristalina Georgieva, on the situation in Haiti, 1 year after the earthquake, Brussels, 11 January 2011,
– having regard to the ACP-EU Joint parliamentary assembly’s report on the fact finding mission to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, 30 August 2010,
– having regard to the Committee for Development fact finding mission in Haiti and its report, 25-27 June 2010,
– having regard to the European Commission communication on the European Emergency Response Capacity of 26 October 2010,
– having regard to the Commission working document on DG ECHO’s 2010 operational strategy,
– having regard to the joint document by Catherine Ashton, Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Kristalina Georguieva, Member of the Commission, on the lessons to be learned from the EU response to the disaster in Haiti, June 2010,
– having regard to the international Donors' Conference towards a New Future for Haiti and its conclusions, New York 31 March 2010,
– having regard to the Action plan for National recovery and development of Haiti presented by the government of Haiti, 31 March 2010,
– having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and to Parliament of 31 March 2010 entitled ‘Humanitarian Food Assistance’,
– having regard to the conclusions of the Ministerial Preparatory Conference in Montreal on 25 January 2010,
– having regard to the conclusions of the extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 18 January 2010,
– having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and to Parliament of 23 February 2009 on ‘EU strategy for supporting disaster risk reduction in developing countries’,
– having regard to the Commission communication to Parliament and to the Council of 5 March 2008 on ‘Reinforcing the Union’s Disaster Response Capacity’ and to Parliament’s resolution of 19 June 2008 on ‘stepping up the Union’s disaster response capacity’,
– having regard to the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, signed on 18 December 2007 by the Presidents of the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission,
– having regard to the report by Michel Barnier entitled ‘For a European civil protection force: Europe Aid’, published in May 2006,
- having regard to the Principles and Good Practices of Humanitarian Donorship, approved in Stockholm on 17 June 2003,
– having regard to the Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948,
– having regard to the Article 214 TFEU of the Lisbon Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which deals with humanitarian aid,
– having regard to Rule 115 of its Rules of Procedures,
A. whereas during the earthquake of 12 January 2010, 200 000 people were reported dead, 250 000 wounded and more than 3 million people were directly affected as well as 1.7 million people were displaced, causing EUR 5.9 billion in damages,
B. whereas 2.5-3.3 million people currently are "food insecure', in a country where 60% of the population live in rural areas and 80% live in absolute poverty,
C. whereas prior to the earthquake, Haiti reported as a fragile state, suffered from poverty, political instability and violence as well as natural disasters leaving government institutions weak and impeding state's ability to provide public services; whereas the destructive effects of the earthquake plunged the country into one of the most severe humanitarian crises it has ever experienced,
D. whereas following the international Donors Conference in New York of the 31 March, the international community pledged USD 9, 9 billions for the next three years; whereas only 42 per cent of the pledges have been disbursed,
E. whereas the recent tragedy in Haiti demonstrated that the tools available to the EU for responding to disasters (humanitarian aid and the Community Civil Protection Mechanism) need to be improved in terms of effectiveness, speed, coordination and visibility,
F. whereas, despite positive achievements, the recovery process remains slow and constraints persist such as rubble removal, land ownership issues, hurricane season and political insecurity,
G. whereas the situation in the country recently has worsened due to the cholera outbreak last October as well as a political instability following disputed elections on 28 November which led to street riots and violence,
H. whereas the number of people affected by cholera has been growing very rapidly, with. 3 333 deaths to date and 83 166 contaminated; whereas cholera has negative repercussions on food security and agriculture produce in the country,
I. whereas the European Commission has mobilised EUR 12 million to fight the cholera epidemic and the European mechanism for civil protection has been activated,
J. whereas out of the USD 174 million, the UN has only received USD 44 million to fight the cholera epidemic,
K. whereas the WHO forecasts 400 000 new cholera cases over the next 12 months if the epidemic is not eradicated,
L. whereas the European Commission has provided EUR 5 million for the organization of the elections,
M. whereas the results of the first round of the 28th November are under scrutiny of the experts of the Organisation of American States,
N. whereas the second tour of November elections foreseen for 16 January 2011, was postponed to February 2011,
1. Insists on a strong and long-term commitment on behalf of the international community including the EU of the fulfilment of all pledges made during the International Donors Conference in New York and to deliver without delay;
2. Considers that the humanitarian operation in its first phase achieved to a large extent its immediate objectives, and responded effectively to the critical needs identified; welcomes efforts by the Haitian authorities and civil society, as well as by the UN, NGOs and other bilateral donors, to bring aid to the people of Haiti and pays tribute to the work of relief organisations and individuals from across the Union;
3. Advocates enhanced dialogue and coordination among humanitarian organisations and development agencies both in the field; emphasises that it is crucial for the UN, to be and remain in charge of coordinating all civilian and military operations, with regard to restoring security and humanitarian aid, and also to the reconstruction and development;
4. Considers that despite the positive achievements the situation one year after the earthquake is critical and very complex and the Haitian population remain the most affected; insists that all stakeholders’ actions must lead to a smooth transition from emergency response and ad hoc operations to the reconstruction and sustainable development of Haiti; further stresses that any European humanitarian and reconstruction assistance is provided in the form of grants, not debt-incurring loans;
5. Expresses its concern that food security remains one of the biggest problems in the country; urges the European Commission to continue and reinforce its actions to improve food security, to boost local agriculture production in connection with rebuilding infrastructure; calls for the implementation of the new Policy Framework on Food Security announced by the European Commission in March 2010;
6. Considers the question of housing a priority for the population, the majority of which live in temporary shelters under bad conditions; insists on engaging with the government in order to identify durable solutions for the secure settlements of the displaced population, urges for the implementation of the Safer Shelter Strategy;
7. Urges that EU priority be given to assisting with the reconstruction efforts and improving the humanitarian situation, focusing on vulnerable groups, such as women and children; calls for improving living and security conditions in camps;
8. Considers as a priority for the Haitian government the provision of the public services in the country; calls for increasing efforts for the development of health infrastructure, special focus on education by providing free compulsory universal basic education and increasing the quality of education;
9. Calls on the European Commission to provide financial aid and technical support for rubble removal, which impedes the reconstruction process (only 4% of the rubble has been removed);
10. Calls for the reinforcement of reconstruction efforts based on national priorities, while respecting aid-effectiveness principles and supporting Haiti's institutions in order to enable them to govern effectively; considers that the Haitian authorities and people should, in close collaboration with the international community, become the real owner of the reconstruction process and future;
11. Stresses the pivotal importance of remittances by the Haitian diaspora as capital flows directly into the hands of the Haitian population, who can rapidly put such monies to use for pressing needs; asks Member States and the Haitian Government to facilitate the delivery of remittances and to work towards reducing their costs;
12. Urges the EU to work with the Haitian authorities to establish disaster prevention and capacity management for the long term;
13. Urges the government of Haiti to pursue and implement the National Reconstruction Plan commitments to strengthening state authority, making local government more effective, building capacity of local and national institutions as well as incorporating the concept of political, economic and institutional decentralization;
14. Considers that local authorities as well as civil society representatives should be better supported and involved in the decision making process;
15. Considers important that decentralization and rural development must be implemented in an environmentally sustainable way; insists on the development of strategies focusing on soil preservation and improvement as well as for reforestation; encourages actively initiatives such as the UNEP environmental recovery and sustainable development initiative for southwest Haiti;
16. Calls on the government of Haiti to undertake initiatives for strengthening the job market and opening up of the Haitian market for investment;
17. Urges donor parties to assist the Haitian government on all levels to further strengthen their capacities; welcomes the European Commission efforts strengthening capacity building of the Haitian authorities by providing EUR 100 million;
18. Calls the IHRC to review its workings and speed up delivery of its mandate;
19. Notes with satisfaction the improvement of the relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; welcomes all efforts made by the latter supporting Haiti in the process of reconstruction; insists that relations and future development between the two countries is based on the "whole-of-the-island" approach;
20. Calls on the Commission to improve the EU’s evaluation capacity on all phases of the reconstruction process; urges the European Commission to put forward proposals as soon as possible for establishing an EU Civil Protection Force based on the EU Civil Protection Mechanism; in this respect, and in order to enable the Union to bring together the resources necessary for providing emergency assistance within 24 hours of the occurrence of a disaster, calls on the Council to work out details of how to act on the recommendation in the Barnier report that the EU’s outermost regions should be used, on a non-exclusive basis, as support bases to facilitate the pre-positioning of vital products and logistics, which would make it easier to deploy the available European human and material resources in the event of an urgent humanitarian intervention outside the EU;
21. Urges the EU and its Member States to keep Haiti's recovery and rehabilitation high on their agenda , to use this as an opportunity to tackle the root causes of the underlying poverty once and for all, and to assist Haiti in emerging as a fully functioning democracy with economy that can sustain its people;
22. Urges for immediate and reinforced international response in order to tackle and prevent the cholera spreading affecting human lives, food security and agriculture produce;
23. Urges Members States, the European Commission and the international partners urgently to increase aid and aid in-kind in order to cover growing gaps in health, water, sanitation, hygiene and logistics;
24. Insists on the organisation of massive awareness campaigns among the population and the authorities on the nature of cholera epidemic and its prevention;
25. Welcomes the European Commission's efforts in coping with the cholera outbreak and insists on the reinforcement of civil protection response through the EU civil protection mechanism; urges the European Commission to formulate an adequate prompt strategy for global European support;
26. Considers political stability, security and rule of law indispensable for the smooth running of the reconstruction process; therefore calls on the Haitian authorities to build and promote the rule of law and re-establish its justice system;
27. Strongly condemns all attempts to jeopardize the integrity of the electoral process;
28. Deplores the acts of violence which have been committed and considers that the protection of the civilian population to be a priority;
29. Calls for a major effort to ensure that disaster risk reduction is more systematically included as an aspect of development aid and humanitarian aid policies; welcomes the adoption in February 2009 of a new European strategy to support disaster risk reduction in developing countries and calls for the strategy to be implemented swiftly;
30. Welcomes initiatives to achieve greater consistency among the various European crisis response instruments; actively supports the reforms made by the European Commission in reshuffling its structures, particularly the linkage of the humanitarian aid and Civil Protection portfolios placed under the responsibility of ECHO, in order to achieve better coherence and coordination of its actions; insists, however, that a clear separation be maintained between the respective remits and roles;
31. Insists on the full implementation of European Consensus for Humanitarian Aid and its Action Plan;
32. Urges the European Commission to set up and implement a long-term reconstruction plan for Haiti;
33. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the Commission, the President and Government of Haiti, the UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief and the governments of the Member States.