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Bill Clinton to coordinate Haiti relief efforts

Louis Charbonneau, UNITED NATIONS , Mon Feb 1, 2010 4:03pm EST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, currently the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, will be named international coordinator for relief efforts in the earthquake-devastated country, U.N. officials said on Monday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been formally announced, U.N. diplomats and officials said Clinton was the most obvious choice to coordinate aid and reconstruction in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

"The official announcement should come sometime this week," a U.N. official told Reuters. Another official said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would formally appoint Clinton, who would "represent the U.N. at the strategic level" and coordinate aid, financial assistance and reconstruction.

Several Security Council diplomats said Clinton had strong backing from U.N. member states.

They said he was the right person for the job because he can combine his U.N. authority with his experience and connections in the U.S. government.

The former president, whose wife Hillary Clinton is U.S. secretary of state, has been actively involved in the Haiti relief effort from the beginning and has already visited the country to witness the destruction for himself.

Clinton told a meeting of global leaders in Davos, Switzerland, last week that there were "serious unmet food and water needs" in Haiti and appealed for short- and long-term funds to help the country.

Nearly three weeks after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed up to 200,000 Haitians and made up to 1 million homeless, a huge U.S.-led international relief operation has been struggling to help injured and hungry survivors.

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Pres.Bill Clinton is absolutely the best person to coordinate this. He knows Haiti and is highly respected there and around the world for his humanitarian efforts and commitment to uplifting people.


-- Edited by Sanders on Tuesday 2nd of February 2010 02:27:23 PM