	International Donors Conference

The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations, and theEuropean Union co-sponsored an International Donors Conference on Haiti in Washington, D.C.,on July 19- 20, 2004. The sponsors held the conference to garner financial support for the international assistance strategy,known as the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF), which the interim Haitian governmentdeveloped in conjunction with the four sponsoring organizations. (1) The ICF, released in July2004, outlines Haiti's priority needs and programs for 2004-2006. (For more information on Aristide's terms and the interim government, see CRS Report RL32294 , Haiti: Developments and U.S. Policy Since 1991 and Current CongressionalConcerns, by [author name scrubbed].) Congressional concerns about its implementation centeraround the rate at which funds are being disbursed, and the effectiveness of the assistance provided. The Interim Cooperation Framework establishes priority needs and projects that fall underfour broad categories, or "axes": political governance and national dialogue; economic governanceand institutional development; economic recovery; and access to basic services. For each of thesefour strategic axes, the Framework provides a strategy, priority objectives, and monitoring indicators. Water and sanitation. Current law related to funding of U.S. assistance to Haiti under the InterimCooperation Framework includes the following: the U.S. 108-25 ); the ForeignOperations Appropriations Act for FY2004 ( P.L. 108-324 ); the FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act ( P.L. 109-13 ). Pending legislation related to funding of U.S. assistance to Haiti includes the following: the Haiti Economic andInfrastructure Reconstruction Act ( H.R. 1213 / S. 704 ); the FY2006 and 2007 Foreign Relations AuthorizationAct ( H.R. Progress to Date(10)

According to the World Bank and other sources, some progress has beenmade toward the objectives outlined in the Interim Cooperation Framework, althoughmuch work remains to be done. Access to Basic Services. The main congressional concerns expressed regarding the DonorsConference strategy is the rate at which funds are being disbursed and theeffectiveness of the aid being provided. Near the mid-point ofthe Donors Conference time-frame, a little less than half of the pledged funding hadbeen disbursed, an estimated $400 million as of May, and a tentative estimate of$500 million as of July 2005. Pledges were madeto be disbursed not all at once, but over a period of just more than two years, fromJuly 2004 through September 2006, the end of Haiti's fiscal year, and eight monthsinto a new administration, if elections proceed according to schedule. At the halfway mark, the United States has disbursed abouthalf of its pledged funds, and Canada more than half.
Haiti and its multilateral and bilateral donors developed an international assistance strategy,known as the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF), to address Haiti's short-term needs between thecollapse of the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004 and the initialphase of a new government scheduled to be inaugurated in February 2006. The World Bank, theInter-American Development Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union co-sponsored theInternational Donors Conference on Haiti in Washington, D.C., on July 19-20, 2004. The objectiveof the conference was to garner international financial support for the ICF, which outlines Haiti'spriority needs and programs for 2004-2006.
The Interim Cooperation Framework establishes priority needs and projects that fall underfour broad categories, or "axes": political governance and national dialogue; economic governanceand institutional development; economic recovery; and access to basic services. For each of thesefour strategic axes, the Framework provides a strategy, priority objectives, and monitoring indicators.
Many congressional concerns regarding Haitian development are addressed by the prioritiesand programs outlined in the Interim Cooperative Framework. The main congressional concernsexpressed regarding the Donors Conference strategy is the rate at which funds are being disbursedand the effectiveness of the aid being provided. International organizations and governmentspledged $1.085 billion, to be disbursed over a two and a half-year period, from July 2004 throughSeptember 2006, eight months into a new administration, if elections proceed according to schedule.
Initial disbursement was slow. According to the World Bank, however, the rate ofdisbursement began to improve after about six months. At just under the halfway point of theDonors Conference time-frame, a little less than half of the pledged funding had been disbursed, atentative estimate of $500 million as of July 2005. Disbursement has been uneven among donors. The United States has disbursed about half of its pledged funds.
Some progress has been made toward the objectives outlined in the Interim CooperationFramework, including voter registration, improvements in fiscal transparency, jobs creation, andbroader access to clean water and other services.
Current law related to funding of U.S. assistance to Haiti includes P.L. 108-25 , P.L. 108-199 , P.L. 108-324 , P.L. 108-447 , and P.L. 109-13 . Pending legislation related to funding of U.S.assistance to Haiti includes H.R. 611 , H.R. 945 , H.R. 1130 , H.R. 1213 / S. 704 , H.R. 2601 , H.R. 3057 , and S. 600 .
See also CRS Report RL32294 , Haiti: Developments and U.S. Policy Since 1991 andCurrent Congressional Concerns, by [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report RL32733 , LatinAmerica and the Caribbean: Issues for the 109th Congress, [author name scrubbed], Coordinator. Thisreport will be updated as warranted.