· Nearly half of the debt was contracted under the Duvalier dictatorship, and is odious debt which should not be repaid by the people of Haiti. These were Cold War loans given to prop up brutal dictators, and should be written off.

· Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the developing world. In order to meet internationally agreed development targets for 2015, Haiti needs total debt cancellation as well as more aid.

· The price the rich countries pay Haiti for its exports has fallen to only 62% of 1987 levels. Lost export earnings are three times the annual debt service payments.

· More than 80% of the rural population lives below the absolute poverty line.

· Haiti has 50% illiteracy, 70% unemployment and an average life expectancy of 56.

· Haiti’s debt is rising rapidly, having increased by more than 50% in five years.

· Infant mortality is more than double the Latin America & Caribbean average.

International financial community view:

· Haiti in not included in the HIPC initiative even though the debt to export ratio is double the level the international financial institutions consider "sustainable". No explanation has been given.

· Clare Short, British Secretary of State for International Development, said on 21 May 1998 that Haiti should not have been left out of HIPC. It is an "exceptional case" which needs "special consideration". Short also cited Malawi, and the World Bank and IMF added Malawi to the HIPC list, but they continue to refuse to add Haiti.