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HOLY SEE SUPPORTS OAS SPECIAL MISSION TO HAITI

  January 9, 2003

The Organization of American States (OAS) has received a $5,000 donation from the Holy See to support the OAS Special Mission to Strengthen Democracy in Haiti.

Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi said that at a time when the OAS must handle increased responsibilities with limited resources, such special contributions are "particularly important in strengthening the role the Organization can play in finding solutions to some of the hemisphere's most pressing problems, among them paralyzing political crises."

Einaudi thanked the Holy See not only for its financial donation, but also for the ongoing assistance of the Apostolic Nuncio in Port-au-Prince, the Most Reverend Luigi Bonazzi.

Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the OAS, said the "symbolic contribution" confirmed the Catholic Church's support of the OAS Special Mission in Haiti and expressed "hope that the Organization's efforts may help to bring true and lasting peace as well as stable democratic structures to a country which has suffered so much."

In December, Ambassador Einaudi reported to the Permanent Council on the situation in Haiti and asked member states and permanent observers for their continued support for the OAS Special Mission in Haiti, established last April.

Reference: E-004/03