Haiti Held Hostage

UNU Public Forum on the International Intervention in Haiti

23 October 1996

United Nations Headquarters, New York

1. A UNU Public Forum on the international intervention in Haiti was held at United Nations Headquarters on Wednesday, 23 October 1996, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. The primary purpose of the Forum was to discuss the results of the joint UNU/Brown University study on the response of the international community to the multifaceted dimensions of the Haitian crisis over the past ten years, and to disseminate the project report, Haiti Held Hostage: International Responses to the Quest for Nationhood (approximately 80 copies of the report were distributed).

2. The panel discussion was moderated by Jacques Fomerand, Head of the United Nations University Office in North America. The panel speakers were: Larry Minear, Co-Director of the Humanitarianism and War Project at Brown University; Robert Maguire, Haiti Representative for the Inter-American Foundation and Haiti Program Coordinator of the Georgetown University Caribbean Project; and William O'Neill, international human rights lawyer and former Director of the Legal Department of the OAS/UN International Civilian Mission in Haiti.

The presentations were followed by a question-and-answer period which was open to all audience members. This segment of the event lasted approximately one hour.

3. Attendance ranged from approximately 55 to 60 people. Staff members from various UN departments were in attendance, including the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW/DPCSD), the Department for Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), the Centre for Human Rights (CHR), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), the Department of Public Information (DPI), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA), the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Haiti was present throughout.

Staff members from the Permanent Missions of Austria, Canada (Ms. T. Mawhinney, who also attended the luncheon), Haiti (Ambassador P. Lelong, who also attended the luncheon), Uganda, and the United States (Ms. K. Lawlor, who has been assigned to deal with UNU-related matters), as well as scholars and professors from the City University of New York (CUNY), Long Island University (LIU), the United Nations Association (UNA-USA), the International Peace Academy, and the International Public Policy Institute also attended. Representation from nongovernmental organizations included the Haiti Solidarity Network, the International Center for Justice and Peace, and the Lutheran World Federation.