Statement by Ambassador Byrne Nason at Arria Meeting on Haiti

Statement

Thank you very much indeed Madam Chair,

And I also want to thank the A3+1 sincerely for organising today’s Arria meeting in support of the Haitian people. And thanks also very much to the distinguished Foreign Minister of Haiti and to your own Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Madam Chair. I was impressed to the diverse and informative presentations by our esteemed briefers.

In the interests of time, I’m going to be very quick and just make three key points –

First - Ireland firmly believes in the power of dialogue and lesson sharing in overcoming what are interwoven and really deep-rooted challenges. We’ve seen that successful societal transformation and reconciliation is always based upon genuine dialogue, with the widest possible base of engagement. We want to, today and through all our engagements with Haiti, to encourage all parties to work together to provide the Haitian people themselves with the stable and functioning democratic institutions they not just deserve, but so badly need.

My second point is that the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in inclusive dialogue and political processes we need to see in Haiti will help consolidate the status of Haitian women as, what they should be, equal partners in creating the change needed and equal recipients, of course, of the dividends their efforts generate. The youth of Haiti also, I believe, rightly deserve seat at the decision making table and  what’s  decided today will affect their lives and livelihoods for decades to come. So we absolutely have to take steps to ensure the safety and security of all women and youth involved in the system and all the political system to foster trust and the engagement that’s needed to get that national dialogue process going.

And then my final point really is to say that recent events have also brought us to a really stark reminder of the risk posed to Haitians themselves - and indeed many of us around the world - from climate disasters. The Haitian people have faced so many challenges, on top of which earthquakes and storms have wreaked havoc, compounding dangerous challenges and dangerous security environment faced in Haiti, on top of a dire humanitarian situation.  So, we believe that concerted efforts on adaptation and resilience really should help Haiti to combat the further instability that the climate crisis has brought.

So, I think we all know many, many challenges but much good will to help the people of Haiti through these challenging times.

Thank you Madam Chair.

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