1. For almost two months, Haiti has experienced one of the most dramatic situations in its history. This country, which the international community has identified as one of the poorest on earth, has become the object of a veritable political, economic, and social harassment.
   
   
2. Because of an internal crisis, certain international entities have taken initiatives that encroach upon the sovereignty of Haiti. To make them effective, they have decreed a cruel embargo on this defenseless country. And when some of the unfortunate people try to escape this intolerable situation, the countries that could receive them callously return them to their place of origin.
   
   
3. Faced with this situation, a sense of anguish seizes us and we cannot but send out a cry of alarm: Have pity on Haiti!
   
   
4. The announced visit of an OAS delegation to meet with the Haitian authorities in the parliamentary, executive and judicial branches, as well as of other sectors of the national life, enkindled hope in the hearts and minds of the Haitian people. In the eyes of everyone, these meetings were to bring to an end the exceptional crisis that is shaking the country.
   
   
5. It is now more than eight days since the delegation has returned to the OAS headquarters and the situation here has definitely not improved. Thus it seems to us time to appeal to the conscience of all people of good will, and to ask the help of moral and spiritual leaders, as well as of humanitarian groups, with a view to securing the lifting of the embargo and the successful conclusion of these and future negotiations.
   
   
6. As we pointed out in our "Memorandum to the OAS Delegation", the embargo against Haiti is a real tragedy. In practice the embargo amounts to a virtual economic blockade: nothing enters the country, petroleum products are turned away, essential goods are lacking.
   
   
   • the sick die for lack of appropriate care;
     
   • the people are beginning to run short of potable water because the pumping stations are forced to stop;
     
   • students are unable to attend school;
     
   • workers see their families waste away because they cannot earn a living;
     
   • peasants cannot bring their produce to the rural markets, the sole centers of commerce between the cities and the country;
     
   • the small businessmen, drivers and passengers who are totally dependent on transportation are paralyzed in their work;
     
   • the farm cooperatives dealing with products such as corn, millet, manioc and the like are not functioning;
     
   • the lack of petroleum products is causing a growing demand for wood coal, contributing to the uncontrolled deforestation and accelerated degradation of the environment.
   
   
7. And today:
   
   
   • we hear about pregnant women being carried to the hospital on stretchers because of lack of fuel, who die en route;
     
   • we hear of children dying of hunger in some parts of the country;
     
   • we hear of old people dying from the shock and amazement at what is happening to them.
   
   
8. This disarray creates a dizzying confusion, and the anxiety it causes makes us cry out: Have mercy on Haiti! Have mercy on this people who already live in extreme poverty and are today approaching a shocking destitution! Have mercy on this country, one of the least developed in the world, which today others seem to want to bring still lower by inflicting an exemplary punishment. Can this be the best way of solving the crisis?
   
   
9. One of the ways to solve this crisis is, without question, that of negotiation. The choice of this way is so desired that the whole Haitian community have, on many occasions, indicated their preference for this measure. Haiti has welcomed three successive missions of the OAS. At the time of the third mission, the various sectors of society..political parties, the army, non-governmental organizations, representatives of the churches, of the industrial, commercial, and manufacturing sectors, popular organizations and unions..all presented their views to the delegation.
   
   
10. But for negotiations to succeed, certain indispensable conditions must be met:
    
    The goal aimed at must be clear to all: it is necessary to establish democracy in Haiti.
    
    An essential means of doing so: everything must be brought to bear to assure equal freedom for all parties involved.
    
    A prerequisite: the absence of any constraints whatever on the negotiators.
    
    
11. The first requirement, if these three conditions have any chance of being realized, is a gradual but speedy lifting of the commercial embargo against Haiti.
    
    
12. This is the important aspect of the events which we have sought to underscore today. We are conscious that this situation, while juridically complex, is humanly intolerable. It is thus with confidence that we address this insistent request to all people of good will. May they help us to find a solution that will quickly ameliorate the condition of this people, leading finally to reconciliation among all Haitians. May they help us maintain our place in the family of nations, so that the suffering cry of the Haitian people will echo in the hearts of other nations.

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