Global Policy Forum

By Monte Hayes

Despite initial objections from the United States and Haiti, the Organization of American States opened the way for an investigation into the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The OAS General Assembly also called for elections in Haiti as soon as possible. But the debate over a probe into Aristide's ouster went for hours until the body on Tuesday night finally approved a resolution allowing an assessment of what occurred.

Aristide accuses the United States of forcing him from office — a charge Washington denies. A U.S.-supplied jet flew Aristide to the Central African Republic on Feb. 29 as rebels advanced on the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, and he is now in asylum in South Africa after spending several weeks in Jamaica. Foreign ministers from around the Americas also declared war on the deeply ingrained corruption in the region at the end of a two-day meeting in this Andean capital.

The ministers committed their nations to undertaking "all the diplomatic initiatives necessary" to promote democracy in Haiti. They also urged "the transitional government in Haiti to create conditions conducive to the holding of free, fair and democratic elections in Haiti as soon as possible." They invoked Article 20 of the organization's charter, which allows it to undertake a "collective assessment," or investigation, of a country "in the event of unconstitutional alterations of the constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order." Haiti's new government and U.S. officials were opposed to invoking Article 20, but CARICOM, a grouping of Caribbean nations, insisted on its inclusion.

After the resolution was passed, U.S. Ambassador John Maisto questioned the suggestion that Aristide's departure was unconstitutional, implied by the use of Article 20. "If Aristide's ouster was unconstitutional, how can you have a government in place that is constitutional and legal?" he told The Associated Press Wednesday. But he said Tuesday's resolution does not dwell on the past. "Everybody is in full agreement that we have to move forward to help the transition government."

After Aristide's ouster, multinational forces entered the country to re-establish order under the authority of the United Nations Security Council. The 15-member Caribbean Community still refuses to recognize Haiti's new government. In Haiti, the government didn't immediately respond publicly to the OAS decision. But Gilvert Angervil, a former legislator from Aristide's party, welcomed the decision to start an investigation. "No one really knows what happened," he said. "What is clear is that democracy took a hard hit ... We hope this will be a serious inquiry."

In other discussions in Quito, Secretary of State Colin Powell urged nations to "advance democratic governance and economic growth in this region" by fighting corruption. "Corruption is deeply destructive of our people's faith in democracy," he said Monday during a debate on the general assembly's final document. "Corruption scares off investors, denying countries the money they need to lift themselves out of poverty and onto the road to sustainable development."

The document, signed by 34 foreign ministers or heads of delegations, recognizes "that corruption has a serious impact on public and private institutions, weakens economic growth and impinges upon the needs and fundamental interests of a country's most vulnerable social groups." The foreign ministers pledged to keep corrupt officials from entering their countries and agreed to cooperate in the recovery of stolen funds.

In a last minute change to the document, foreign ministers agreed to "cooperate in the extradition" of officials accused of corruption. But some ministers, including Argentina's Rafael Bielsa, expressed doubt about how effective the measure would be. Asked if all countries would respect the recommendation, he noted that Chile's high court on Tuesday denied — for the second time in two weeks — an Argentine request to extradite former President Carlos Menem. Mexico, which has a long history of providing refugee to officials who say they are fleeing political persecution, had opposed the extradition proposal.

The United States also was unsuccessful in persuading other hemispheric nations to agree to impose sanctions on corrupt governments. "Governments are not corrupt," Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez told The Associated Press during a break in the debate. "Members of a given government are corrupt."