Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-19-Speech-2-044"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100119.4.2-044"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, as I began, I wanted to come to this House to hear the views. I take on board and understand the frustration that honourable Members feel, that there are issues which could be handled better.
For the long term, honourable Members are absolutely right. When the cameras have gone, we need to be there. We need to be there physically, we need to be there in terms of the support we can give. I agree that debt issues need to be a part of the discussions that take place. I agree that what is done must be done in partnership with the Haitian people with due respect for them. I agree on the importance of rebuilding the infrastructure, and I agree that we have to ensure that the role of the United Nations is recognised and make sure that they are able to fulfil it well.
That is why I am going not only to the United States to see Secretary of State Clinton but also to the United Nations to talk with the Secretary-General and the key people about what we can now do to pull together for the future because that, as you say, will be of enormous importance.
Let me finish on the reality of the situation. As honourable Members have said, this is a country where over 70% of people were already living below the poverty line. It is very important, as honourable Members have said, that the children, the orphan children especially, are cared for properly, and the devastation will require support in the years ahead.
Let me just tell you a little bit about the infrastructure at the moment. Hospitals, electricity, communications, water supply, seaports and airports have been badly damaged. The main official buildings, the Presidential Palace, the Parliament, Ministries of Treasury, Justice, Planning, Health and Interior are completely destroyed. Many of the high government officials are missing. The capacities of the Haitian Government are not functioning. It is, as you said, already one of the poorest countries in the world, and because we need to rebuild that infrastructure, I share your commitment to make sure that we do.
Members asked questions about visibility and coordination. There is no question that, because America is closer, because it has the capacity to mobilise as quickly as it did, then the pictures you will see on your television screens will be of them. The fact that we worked so closely and collaboratively with the United States is also an important part of what we do now and in the future.
And there is also no question that, as I was woken in the night to be told of the earthquake, we mobilised our people as quickly as we possibly could. Twenty-one Member States were mobilised to respond. We had work done, with the Council and Commission side coming together for the very first time, and may I just say, it is only eight days since I was before you in my hearing here.
Twenty-one Member States with 11 search-and-rescue teams, five field hospitals, six advance medical posts, 40 medical teams, six water-purification units; we despatched these as quickly as we could and I pay tribute to the Member States for the work they do. I also pay tribute to the officials who worked and have continued to work day and night to pull this effort together.
I put the question very early to the United Nations on the ground, and to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, where best my efforts could be. There was no doubt that I had nothing to contribute on the ground other than to take up valuable space when planes were circling the airfield unable to land because of the state of the airfield at the present time. I am not a doctor. I am not a fire-fighter. My place was to bring together the coordination, to be talking to the Friends of Haiti Group, to be coordinating with the United States to make sure that we put in the maximum effort on the ground.
I also pay tribute, as honourable Members have done, to the NGOs and to the people on the ground. The devastation that happened on the ground had enormous impact on the United Nations, which has lost many members of their senior staff, and on NGOs, which have been unable to respond as quickly as they would simply because people of theirs have died.
That has made it very difficult, as you have watched and we have watched people desperate for help, wondering where the help is. Getting the help out in these circumstances has been incredibly difficult, and again people have worked tirelessly to provide it. Now things are getting easier, the help is getting out, but do not underestimate for one moment how difficult the circumstances have been on the ground.
Did it work well? Yes. Am I satisfied? No. As I start my first weeks in this job, I say to you very clearly: I hear what you say. I hear the frustration. I understand it. And you are right to criticise me that it is not as good as it can be in the future. You are right. It should, and must, get better and better.
What I have to do is take what happened and learn the lessons of it now in order to make sure that we do more in the future to pull together, but I take nothing away from the tremendous work that was done and is being done hour by hour and day by day."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples