Haiti - Politique : Haiti requests the status of Associate Member of the African Union
Haiti is currently participating in the 18th International Conference of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia with the participation of 2,500 delegates from around the world. Several heads of state from Europe, America and Asia are present as observers.
The Republic of Haiti requested on this occasion the status of Associate Member of the African Union, according to the Chief Cabinet of Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador Ady Jean Gardy which represents our country at this meeting. The request of adhesion of Haiti to the African Union to the Conference of Heads of State was extensively applauded.

The head of the delegation of Haiti, Mr. Ady Jean Gardy, on behalf of the Republic of Haiti, highlighted the importance of such an approach, which aims for the first time to integrate Haiti into the family of African countries as Associate Member of the African Union, determined to establish exchanges at all levels of the business diplomacy with African states. During a press conference in Addis Ababa, relayed by RFI, Mr. Ady Jean Gardy recalled the keen interest of President Joseph Michel Martelly, of Prime Minister Gary Conille and of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe in this process of accession of Haiti to the African Union.

The chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ady Jean Gardy, who has the rank of Ambassador, took advantage of the 18th Conference of Heads of State and Government to increase contacts and talks with the Ethiopian authorities and to other Heads of State of passage in Addis Ababa, on behalf of the business diplomacy and of development advocated by the Minister Laurent Lamothe.
Recall that this conference also participates Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, assisted by Joseph Deiss, President of the UN General Assembly, along with fifty Heads of State, including Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Congo, of Jakaya Mrisho Kilwete, President of Tanzania, of Allasssan Ouatara, PPresident of Côte d'Ivoire or of Ms. Ellen Johnson, the President of Liberia. Several other African heads of state, including of Burkina Faso, of the Equatorial Guinea, of Gabon, of Ghana, of Mauritania, of Rwanda, of Sudan, of Togo, of the Republic of Sahrawi, of Tunisia or of Nigeria took the opportunity to announce their intention to strengthen their diplomatic relations with Haiti as soon as possible.

Mr. Ady Jean Gardy on behalf of the Republic of Haiti has informed the representatives of various governments represented, of the intention of the Haitian government to accredit a diplomatic mission to the African Union. He announced a possible African tour of resident of the Republic and of Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Lamothe. Finally he promised to send the instructions from the Foreign Minister of Haiti to the Committee of 10 Heads of State that was formed in Addis Ababa to provide them with suggestions of Haiti regarding an urgent reform of the UN system and of structures of the African Union. The Ambassador Ady Jean Gardy back to Haiti this week, after the close of the 18th Conference of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa

Source: http://www.reunionblackfamily.com/apps/blog/show/11979769-haiti-requests-the-status-of-associate-member-of-the-african-union

interesting.

Nice!

Why?!

They are not Africans!! Bleep em!

  Bad Jujuman!   I am surprised at you.  Haitians are almost singlehandedly keeping your traditional religions alive.  And here you are scoffing at their authenticity. 

Haven't you heard Wyclef Jean and other Haitians call themselves Africans?

Haitians ARE indeed Africans.  I accept their application o jare.  Come on down, our African brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Okija_juju:

Why?! 

They are not Africans!! Bleep em! 

You are kidding, right?

Best news of the year.

Haiti just happened to be geographically apart with Africa, but it is the origional African state outside of Africa. Yes, I agree, they should claim their place in their motherland. Why is Morocco fighting to get the EU Status? it is not even a member of teh AU.

welcome home brothers and sisters, you deserve more than associate member status given that you were able to defeat 3 imperial armies singlehandedly and emancipate yourselves from slavery.

Standing ovation for Haiti.

Actually, WE (continental Africans) should have been asking them to join since long ago. It would be an honor for us if they joined, but of course African leaders aren't even thinking of such things.

Very good step

Haiti - a nation with a proud history:

Toussaint-Louverture (May 20, 1743 – April 7, 1803) was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free, self-governing people.[1] The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World.[2]

Toussaint Louverture began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint Domingue. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Toussaint switched allegiance to the French when they abolished slavery. He gradually established control over the whole island, expelled British invaders and used political and military tactics to gain dominance over his rivals. Throughout his years in power, he worked to improve the economy and security of Saint Domingue. He restored the plantation system using free labour, negotiated trade treaties with Britain and the United States and maintained a large and well-disciplined army.[3]

In 1801 he promulgated an autonomist constitution for the colony, with himself as governor for life. In 1802 he was forced to resign by forces sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to restore French authority in the colony. He was deported to France, where he died in 1803. The Haitian Revolution continued under his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared independence in 1804.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toussaint_Louverture

Haitians - we are proud of you, you remain an inspiration to the entire black race.

Good news, others in the Americas should be encouraged too.

I say let them in. Seeing that it bares no real significance anyways.

They'll be running away soon enough.

If the AU had any sense of self-worth, Haiti would have an honorary chair even if they had not applied to the body.
Haiti was the first country on this planet to stand up for the dignity of the black race. And for that, there is still an unspoken desire to crush Haiti.

This is welcoming news for both Haiti and the African Union. I hope that more Caribbean nations such as Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Barbados will join Haiti and becoming associate members of the African Union. As someone on this thread previously stated, Haiti is the most original African state outside of the continent. I have also found Haitians and many other Afro-Caribbeans as people who are proud of their African roots.

Haiti to join the African Union? Why not …
It may have no geographic ties to Africa but the impoverished Caribbean state is, at least politically and culturally speaking, definitely attached


People dressed as soldiers who fought with Jean-Jacques Dessalines mark the 206th anniversary of his assasination in Port-au-Prince. Dessalines was the first ruler of independent Haiti, the first black republic, a fact not lost on the African Union. Photograph: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP

Afua Hirsch
guardian.co.uk, Friday 19 October 2012 07.00 BST
From an African perspective, going to the Caribbean can be a disarming experience. On many of the islands, the people look distinctively west African, their national dishes are barely changed versions of African food (compare Nevis's "cook-up" to Ghana's "waakye" and I challenge you to spot the difference), and their Creole dialects are often almost direct translations of African languages into English or French.

So it shouldn't be surprising that cultural ties, stretched and distorted by 5,000 miles, slavery and the passage of several hundred years, are still strong enough to produce some kind of political union between Africa and the Caribbean. And sure enough, in January the African Union is poised to admit Haiti as a member, which if it happens, will be the first time any nation with no geographic connection to the continent of Africa will have joined.

More than any other Caribbean nation, Haiti occupies a special place in the affection of many Africans and members of the African diaspora. The country endured decades of still prescient punishment for daring to overthrow its slave masters, becoming the world's first independent black nation in 1804 – the slave rebellion's leader Toussaint L'Ouverture hailed from Benin. Haiti used its independence and membership of the United Nations in the post-war period to back decolonisation during the fraught period of African independence.

And now it has a level of poverty gives it more in common with many African nations than its wealthier Caribbean neighbours, who have been known to regard Haitan refugees as a nuisance. After the 2010 earthquake, the Democratic Republic of Congo – which struggles to finance its own budget – pledged $2.5m in aid to the devastated country. Senegal offered land and places at its university to Haitan students. As the African Union chairman, Jean Ping, said: "We have attachment and links to that country. The first black republic … that carried high the flame of liberation and freedom for black people and has paid a heavy price for so doing."

Despite all this, it's unlikely the primary reasons for Haiti's interest in AU membership are emotional. At the AU summit in July, the Haitan information minister compared the country's interest in the union with its interest in the EU.

There is much for poor, aid-dependent Haiti to gain from battles African nations have already fought, not least debt cancellation. It is also telling that when Haiti was granted observer status at the AU back in February, one of the first things its ambassador Ady Jean Gardy did was to enter Haiti in the inter-ministerial conference on China-AU investment. Relative to the now-booming economies of many African nations, Haiti attracts very little foreign direct investment, and Africa's example – imperfect as it is – is a natural one to follow. Meanwhile, intra-African trade is on the rise, and Haiti would do well to find itself included.

The rest of the Caribbean is wealthier and so lacks such practical incentives to join forces with Africa. But that doesn't mean Haiti won't set a precedent. After all, the AU was founded off the back of African legends such as Kwame Nkrumah and Leopold Senghor, pan-African and négritude principles were themselves directly inspired by leaders from the Caribbean – Jamaican Marcus Garvey, Martinican Aimé Césaire and Trinidadian Henry Sylvester Williams.

The Senegalese consultant Babacar M'Bow, who has been working behind the scenes for AU membership for Haiti, summarised his view of what Africans think about Haitians. "[Africans] think 'well they shipped you over there, so come back to us.' It looks like they just might.

Source

So it shouldn't be surprising that cultural ties, stretched and distorted by 5,000 miles, slavery and the passage of several hundred years, are still strong enough to produce some kind of political union between Africa and the Caribbean. And sure enough, in January the African Union is poised to admit Haiti as a member, which if it happens, will be the first time any nation with no geographic connection to the continent of Africa will have joined.

Most of the Haitians originate from Dahomey

Kwame Toure discusses Haiti's contribution to Pan-Africanist struggles.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZZmyD-3eXI

Haiti was at independance in 1804 the richest island in the west indies. It is the first American military invasion of Haiti in 1915 that destroyed the Haitian economy. When the American invaded the island the U.S. Marines went straight to the Haitian national bank and removed 100% of its gold reserves and transfered it to Citibank in New York City. The Haitian constitution was rewritten by the Americans to allow foreign ownership of Haitian property; land was seized from small peasants to create large plantations; the economy was reorganized so that 100% of Haiti’s gross domestic product flowed to U.S. banks.

Okija_juju: Why?!

They are not Africans!! Bleep em!

Yeah. I think we Caribbeans should form our own union.
Bleep you too btw.

Nebeuwa: This is welcoming news for both Haiti and the African Union. I hope that more Caribbean nations such as Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Barbados will join Haiti and becoming associate members of the African Union. As someone on this thread previously stated, Haiti is the most original African state outside of the continent. I have also found Haitians and many other Afro-Caribbeans as people who are proud of their African roots.

Once upon a time I wanted the same thing but I don't know...
Not sure what we stand to gain by joining.