Frequently Asked Questions
International Donors’ Conference
Towards a New Future for Haiti
March 31, 2010, United Nations Headquarters, New York
International Donors’ Conference
Towards a New Future for Haiti
March 31, 2010, United Nations Headquarters, New York
(DRAFT)
Conference Goals
Q: What are the goals of the Conference?
A: The goal of the Conference is to mobilize international support and announce concrete financial commitments for Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction needs as the country begins to lay the foundation for its long-term development.
Q: What types of pledges of assistance are you seeking?
Q: How will priorities for development assistance be set?
A: Priorities for the assistance will be set by the Government of Haiti, which will present its strategy, developed with input from the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment led by the Government with the joint support of the United Nations, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, European Commission, and several major donors.
Q: How can donors be sure that pledged assistance actually reaches Haiti?
A: The pledges will be published and assistance flows tracked through a web-based system being established by the UN with the Government of Haiti. This represents an effort to trying to improve on past practice and provide support in a transparent and more effective way.
Conference Organization
Q: Why are the United States and the United Nations the co-hosts of the Conference?
A: The United States has been the largest donor to Haiti, and the United Nations has a long-established valuable role in Haiti and provides a forum to mobilize a truly global response. It is natural that both would co-host.
Q: What is the role of major donors mentioned in the Conference invitation?
A: Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France, and Spain, as major supporters of Haiti, are helping to organize the Conference, and will act as Conference co-chairs.
Q: Who is invited to the donors’ conference and at what level?
A: All member states of the United Nations are invited and are encouraged to attend at the ministerial level. Major international organizations are also invited as well as representatives selected to report the findings from outreach and consultation meetings held before the conference with Haitian civil society, the private sector, the Haitian diaspora, Haitian state and local government, MINUSTAH stakeholders, and international NGOs.
Q: Will non-governmental delegations be included?
A: While donors’ conferences are limited to governmental participation, for this Conference we have incorporated broader inclusion through pre-conference outreach and consultation meetings. A series of preparatory consultations are being undertaken with Haitian civil society, the Haitian Diaspora, the private sector, Haitian state and local government, and non-governmental organizations in these meetings, which will report back to the Conference through representatives. The future of Haiti will not rest on government commitments alone, but on support from a strong private sector, non-governmental organizations and civic engagement.
Non-governmental Participants
Q: How will the Haitian people be represented?
A: The Haitian people will be represented in three ways: first, by their elected government officials, second by Haitian civil society representatives at the conference who will report back from the preparatory consultations, and third, through the inclusion of Haitian civil society in the conference process overall. The Office of the UN Special Envoy to Haiti, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), NGO’s, and local community groups have organized more than 125 meetings with a total of more than 1,000 Haitians living in rural and urban areas of Haiti’s 10 departments. A summary of the groups’ findings will be presented to the Conference by designated representatives.
Q: How will international and Haitian NGOs participate?
A: There will be a series of NGO events that will culminate in a meeting on March 25 in New York being organized by the Office of the UN Special Envoy to Haiti , InterAction, and the European Commission. Representatives from this event will be asked to address the Conference on March 31.
Q: Will any other groups be represented at the Conference?
A: Yes, meetings will or have been held with citizens in Haiti through focus group discussions (March 15), with representatives of the private sector (Haiti, March 15, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank), the Haitian Diaspora (Washington, D.C., March 21-23, organized by the Organization of American States), MINUSTAH stakeholders (New York, March 23, organized by the Government of Brazil and the Government of Haiti), and Haitian state and local government (Martinique, March 23, organized by the Government of France) Two representatives from each of these meetings will be asked to address the Conference on March 31.
Conference Agenda and Format
Q: What is the agenda?
A: It is still being finalized, but will include introductory remarks by the co-hosts and the Government of Haiti, statements by the co-chairs, reports from the public outreach meetings, presentation of the Haitian plan for development and a response by international institutions, and then the pledging session.
Q: Who gets to speak?
A: Given the number of delegations expected to attend the Conference and the limits of time, only those making financial contributions for long-term recovery and reconstruction (as distinct from the humanitarian assistance that so many countries have already generously provided) will be speaking. We are asking those making pledging statements to limit their remarks to less than 3 minutes and are making available a dedicated website for delegations to share longer statements. Unfortunately, because of time restrictions, donors offering in-kind support will not be able to take the floor.
Q: What determines speaking order?
A: The co-hosts will determine the order.
Q: Is the conference open to the public?
A: The conference will be live-streamed and thus the public will be able to follow the entire proceedings.
Q: Will there be a website?
A: Yes, www.haiticonference.org
Q: Are there side events?
A: None are scheduled at this time.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment