Martín Torrijos, former President of Panama, along with Carlos Westendorp Secretary General of the Club of Madrid and Javier Niño, EU Ambassador to Haiti lead the Club de Madrid/European Union delegation. A number of key Haitian interlocutors also participated in the workshop, such as Simon Dieuseul Desras, President of the Senate; Jean Max Bellrive, former Primer Minister of Haiti; Hervé Denis, former President of the Chamber of Commerce of Haiti; Sauveur Pierre Etienne, OPL General Coordinator; Suzy Castor, President of CRESFE; Edmonde Beauzile, Fusion General Coordinator; Jean Joseph Exumé, former Minister of Justice; Monseigneur Pierre-André Dumas, General Coordinator of Religions pour la Paix and Jean Marie Théodat, Limonade University Rector. Sophie de Caen, PNUD Director along with Raúl Fernández Daza Chile Ambassador and Leonel Etienne, Ambassador of Haiti in France, also participated in the workshop.
Four high level experts from four countries enriched the workshop with the lessons and best practices learnt in their countries:
- Roelf Meyer: former Minister under De Klerk and Mandela’s governments and key facilitator of South-African transition to democracy
- Max Hernández: former Technical Secretary of the Peruvian National Agreement
- Charles Powell: Director of the Elcano Institute, Spain’s leading international relations think-tank and an expert on democratic transitions
- Patrycja Sasnal: Head of the Middle East and North Africa project of the Polish Institute of International Affairs.The workshop will focus on lessons learnt from each country showcases and how they can be fed into the Haitian context , namely to address long-term governance priorities such as: Constitutional reform, electoral system, strengthening the political parties system and collective engagement in building a long term vision for the country.
Click here for the full workshop agenda and here for the high level experts’ bios
Background
The European Union-funded project “Promotion of dialogue for democratic reform in Haiti” has the following main objectives:
- To identify multi-stakeholder areas for dialogue and negotiation so as to bring together the country’s key players and stimulate collective reflection on commonly identified democratic governance priorities
- To accompany Haitian leaders in the management of immediate political challenges and support them in their search for solutions.
- To promote dialogue on medium and long-term democratic reforms through pragmatic agreements leading to political actions.
The Club de Madrid is the world´s largest, independent group of democratic, political leaders, committed to addressing the challenges of democratic transition and consolidation. The principal added value of the Club de Madrid is a membership of nearly 100 democratically elected former Presidents and Prime Ministers, from over 60 countries, willing and able to share their diverse expertise, experience and networks in support of democratic values.
The European Union is a major donor of development and humanitarian assistance world-wide. In Haiti, the EU has allocated € 889 million since 2008. Support to good governance, democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights lie at the heart of the EU’s cooperation with Haiti
