23146: Simidor Re Hess: Re Walton's Reconstituted Army (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Daniel Simidor <karioka9@mail.arczip.com>


>From: Dougrhess2@aol.com
>
>"Haiti is paying $500 million for a feel good  MINUSTAH force"
>
>Where did you get the $500 million figure from?

The numbers below, $49.26 million + $215.55 million, are from an interim budget for the last eight months of 2004.  People can use their calculators to figure out more or less what the full budget for 2004 and 2005 will look like.

“The budget proposal for the newly-established mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for the period from 1 May to 31 December 2004 was presented to the Committee in document A/58/800.  Pending submission of a full budget for the Mission next fall for the period from 1 May 2004 to 30 June 2005, the report contains the interim budget for the Mission for the periods from 1 May to 30 June 2004 and from 1 July to 31 December 2004, which reflects the preliminary financial requirements of MINUSTAH and amounts to some $49.26 million and $215.55 million, respectively.  The proposal provides for the deployment of 6,700 military contingent personnel including 120 staff officers, 1,622 civilian police including 750 in formed units, 548 international and 995 national staff and 154 United Nations Volunteers.”
Source: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/gaab3620.doc.htm (Press Release
GA/AB/3620, “Budget Committee Considers Financing Of Peacekeeping Operations In Haiti, Timor-Leste,” 24/05/2004)

Method of Financing.  Will the UN absorb the huge expenses involved?  Kofi Annan’s Interim Report dated 30 Aug. 2004 tells us that “As at 31 July 2004, unpaid assessed contributions to the Special Account for MINUSTAH amounted to $218.3 million.” In other words the UN has fronted that amount but wants its money back at some point.  And where will that money come from?  From the member states that snubbed (tuipe or chwipe in Creole) the UN’s initial call to contribute to a special fund of $35 million for urgent interventions “in the health, nutrition, water and sanitation, food and education sectors?” No, that’s partly what the Interim Cooperation Framework was about.  Annan again:

“With regard to the medium- and longer-term assistance needs, a Haitian Contact Group meeting, comprising lead donors, international financial institutions and regional organizations, was convened at World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., on 23 March 2004, resulting in an agreement to prepare an Interim Cooperation Framework focusing on the current economic, social and institutional needs of Haiti.  A policy dialogue meeting on governmental priorities between the transitional government and donors will take place on 22 April in Port-au-Prince, which will be followed by a pledging conference in late June.  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank will be leading the assessment process for the preparation of the Interim Cooperation Framework on the donor side....”
Source: http://ods-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/304/27/IMG/N0430427.pdf  (Report of the Secretary-General on Haiti, 16 April 2004)

How nice for the Secretary-General and the Latortue transitional government (and the MINUSTAH budget) that the subsequent Donors Conference in Washington, D.C actually went beyond their expectations.  You can rest assured that even if no money is found to fund Latortue’s modest job program, the MINUSTAH millions will be found and will be faithfully added to Haiti’s national debt.

Daniel Simidor