The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) took note Friday of the notification of the withdrawal of its offer to host the 45th General Assembly of the Organization due to "financial and logistical constraints" currently experienced by the Government of Haiti, as expressed by the country's Foreign Minister, Duly Brutus, in a letter sent to the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza.

The Presidnet of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Suriname to the Organization, Niermala Badrising, informed the representatives of the situation and reported that the discussion on the new site will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Permanent Council.

The letter from the Minister of Foreign Relations of Haiti, Duly Brutus, to the Secretary General explains that the withdrawal of the offer to host the event is due to "financial and logistical constraints that could affect organization of the forty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly and Haiti's ability to host a fruitful and outstanding General Assembly, given the electoral process that the Government of the Republic has set in motion."

During the Council meeting, the Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS, Bocchit Edmond, added that "it has been a difficult decision for the Government of Haiti, because we wanted to host the event twenty years after the first time in Haiti. There are reasons beyond our control that have forced us to take this decision."

Let us recall that the decision to name Haiti host of the XLV General Assembly had been taken by acclamation by the member states during the XLIV General Assembly, held last year in Asuncion, Paraguay.

HL/ HaitiLibre