Haiti reconstruction
Haiti’s parliament has approved the creation of a commission that will allow foreign donors to participate in deciding how to rebuild the nation.
The bill approving the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which was set up by an international donors conference on March 31, was passed by the Haitian Senate late on Thursday.
The joint commission, to be co-chaired by former US President Bill Clinton, the UN special envoy for Haiti, and by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, will determine which reconstruction projects will receive backing from multi-billion-dollar funding pledged by foreign donors.
President Rene Preval is due to sign the bill into law and he will have final veto over rebuilding projects.
Sitting on the commission will be an equal number of Haitian and non-Haitian representatives including officials of international organizations, multilateral lenders and major donors.
The body will operate for 18 months before handing over to a government redevelopment authority.
Over 200,000 people were killed in a devastating earthquake on 12 January.
UN helicopter crashes in Haiti
A Spanish military helicopter has crashed in rugged terrain in Haiti, the United Nations (UN) has said, killing all four crew members on board.
The crash happened at 1030 local time (1430 GMT) yesterday. The crew of a helicopter sent to the area saw “enormous damage” at the crash site, a UN spokesman said.
The helicopter went down in rough terrain 50km (30 miles) southeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, near the border with the Dominican Republic. Spain has about 450 soldiers in Haiti helping with aid and reconstruction.
Drugs trafficking warning
United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday he is concerned that drug trafficking will migrate to the Caribbean, as Mexico or Central America step up their own counter-narcotics efforts.
Gates was meeting with leaders from seven Caribbean islands in a bid to re-energize US partnerships in the region.
The US is committing over US$100 million over the next two years to help Caribbean nations improve security and establish social programs aimed at discouraging the drug trade.
Gates said the Obama administration wants to do more to ensure that the Caribbean doesn’t become an easy target for the drug trade.
