Action Plan presented to serve as road map during the next 10 years.
June 2, 2010.
More than 500 people attended the Summit for the Future of Haiti held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, last June 2 2010. Delegations from more than 50 countries and international development agencies confirmed pledges made during the last international meeting held in New York on March 31 2010 (Towards a New Future for Haiti), and announced new contributions to support the implementation of the Action Plan for the Recovery and Development of Haiti.
This document is considered the road map for the strategic orientation of Haiti during the next 10 years, and it was developed by the Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (ICRH), co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Haiti, Jean Max Bellerive, and the Special Envoy of the UN, William Jefferson Clinton. The Commission includes representatives from civil society organizations, the private sector, partner entities (Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank and UNDP), and donors contributing with no less than 300 million dollars.
The Action Plan, which was officially presented during the meeting in New York, underscores 4 priority areas: institutional strengthening, economic recovery, social development and territorial re-foundation. In Punta Cana, an updated version of the Plan was circulated which includes a list of specific projects in these areas. The implementation of the Action Plan is expected to be funded via a variety of vehicles including, bilateral cooperation, budget support, triangular cooperation and multilateral funding. The Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) is part of the latter.
The Summit consisted of two parts: 1) short interventions by each of the delegations, and 2) thematic working tables on the four priority areas of the Action Plan. While the short presentations aimed to spur donors to disburse the money they pledged at the March 31 international donors conference, the working sessions allowed participants to focus on their areas of greatest interest and to discuss with greater depth the main challenges and the best approaches.
According to the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez, host of the Summit, participants pledged to contribute 11 billion dollars over ten years; of this, $5.3 billion is expected to be disbursed within the next two years. Specific short-term pledges were made by institutions like the World Bank and the IDB to address the current budget deficit of Haiti.
The solidarity of developing countries, particularly from Latin America and the Caribbean, was highlighted. While Colombia pledged to contribute 4 million dollars via the multi-donor fund (HRF), Venezuela announced the creation of a Solidarity Fund and the yielding of profits from PetroCaribe revenues, via oil sells in the country. Cuba, Uruguay, Peru, DR and Ecuador also confirmed their commitment with the recovery of Haiti. Visit the Summit’s website for the complete list of pledges.
The Interim Commission is expected to have its first official meeting on June 17th. The Steering Committee of the HRF will also meet the same day to approve, i) the Fund’s operational guidelines, ii) urgent requests for financing from the IHRC, and iii) the administrative budgets for its Trustee and Secretariat. See the Summit Declaration for further information.