wfn.org | LWF concerned about poverty, in Haiti

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

The country needs political stability to stimulate economy

PETION-VILLE, Haiti/GENEVA, 7 September 1999 (lwi) - While paying
tribute to the courage of the Haitian people, the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) General Secretary Dr. Ishmael Noko has said that the
level of misery and poverty in which they live is unacceptable.

Noko made these remarks during his visit to Haiti from 22 to 24 August
1999 at the invitation of the LWF Haiti Program. A major highlight of
this visit was the launching on 23 August of the Advanced Institute for
Political and Social Study (ISPOS), which was fully funded by the LWF.
As implicated in its name, the institute is a place for political
education and the promotion of dialogue in the civil society.

While he underscored that Haiti needs political stability to stimulate
the economy and contribute to a better education for the people, Noko
pointed out that the LWF program in Haiti should not be seen as
replacing the work of the state but as a way of contributing toward
improving the life of Haiti's poor people.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 1999 Human
Development report, Haiti, with a population of 7.5 million people is
ranked position 152. Almost 80 per cent of the population are
unemployed, and the country lacks clean water, electricity and
telephones as well as education.

The LWF general secretary observed that whereas the Central American
country has experienced a difficult democratic transition for the last
13 years, it is a nation endowed with a lot of resources and talents.

Noko held discussions with Haiti's Electoral Council and confirmed the
LWF's readiness to participate in the ecumenical electoral observers'
team during elections later on this year. During his meeting with the
Minister for Planning and External Cooperation Mr. Anthony Dessources,
the government responded positively to Noko's invitation for a better
partnership between the LWF and the Haitian state in the area of
community building.

Meeting officials of the Foreign Ministry, Noko raised concern about the
situation of the Haitian people living and working in sub-human
conditions in the neighboring Dominican Republic. He said that the LWF
is committed to advocate for the rights of the Haitian refugees leaving
in slums called "Bateyes" in the Dominican Republic. The Haitian
authorities welcomed LWF's position particularly as both countries seek
a diplomatic agreement on issues revolving around migration.

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee. The LWF secretariat
is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented
does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (lwi), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/