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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8286
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000159 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y  (TAGS ADDED) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS OP CENTER TASK FORCE 1 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF EAID PHUM CVIS UN FR HA
SUBJECT: FRENCH RELIEF ASSISTANCE TO HAITI - SNAPSHOT: 
FEBRUARY 9, 2010 
 
REF: A. A. STATE 4807 
     ¶B. B. STATE 4854 
     ¶C. C. STATE 4909 
     ¶D. D. PARIS 65 
 
PARIS 00000159  001.16 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: As the international community transitions 
from the immediate crisis to the stabilization period before 
the long-term effort of reconstruction, France remains 
committed to sending physical and financial reinforcements to 
aid Haitian disaster victims.  Following the conclusion of 
their emergency search and rescue missions, the GOF is now 
shifting its relief effort to assisting survivors of the 
earthquake, with a particular focus on orphaned children in 
Haiti.  France remains a strong supporter of prepatory 
meetings on Haiti leading up to an international donors, 
conference that would address Haitian reconstruction.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
FRENCH CONTRIBUTION TO THE RELIEF EFFORT, TO DATE 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶2.  (SBU) The French have sent 25 million euros ($36 million) 
to Haiti in emergency aid, with 10 million euros ($15 
million) channeled through the UN and 2 million euros ($3 
million) in emergency food aid.  French NGOs have collected 
over 40 million euros ($57 million) in donations.  France has 
also agreed to cancel 54 million euros ($76 million) in 
remaining French-owned Haitian debt as agreed in the Paris 
Club.  Since the earthquake, France has sent over 1,200 
French citizens to Haiti to support the relief effort.  As of 
February 8, France has 1,028 personnel engaged in Haiti, with 
364 civil security members, 540 military, and 114 gendarmes. 
Nearly 1,700 metric tons of humanitarian material and 
equipment have been delivered since the French relief effort 
began on January 13.  Five military aircraft conduct daily 
rotations between Haiti and the French Antilles on evacuation 
missions.  As of February 9, France evacuated a total of 
2,770 people, repatriating 1,642 individuals back to 
metropolitan France and 1,127 survivors to the West Indies. 
Of the 2770 evacuees, 1,221 were French citizens, 1,216 
Haitian nationals, 47 citizens of the European Union, 57 
third-country nationals, and 278 Haitian children currently 
involved in adoption proceedings by French families.  French 
teams have confirmed the deaths of 25 French nationals, with 
an additional 9 French citizens still missing from the French 
community of over 1,400 in Haiti.  French search and rescue 
teams, which officially completed their missions on January 
22, have rescued a total of 16 survivors buried beneath the 
rubble.  A team of 24 search and rescue personnel remain on 
the ground to continue clearing rubble for any remaining 
bodies.  On February 8, Prime Minister Francois Fillon hosted 
a reception for hundreds of returning French civilian and 
military personnel to thank them for their humanitarian 
service in Haiti. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In Haiti, the French field hospitals and advanced 
medical posts comprised of over 160 medical personnel have 
conducted 9,500 consultations, hospitalized over 1,300 
people, and performed 364 surgeries to date.  The French have 
installed four potable water stations with a capacity of 
producing enough drinking water for 40,000 people per day. 
The "Siroco" naval ship arrived on January 19 with a field 
hospital on board, allowing for the immediate care of wounded 
victims.  The French naval ship "Francis Garnier" arrived on 
January 24, carrying 1,300 metric tons of material and four 
helicopters.  In early February, the French military helped 
provide temporary relief to disaster victims by setting up 
600 tents in downtown Port-au-Prince on the Champs de Mars, 
with a capacity to accommodate over 5,000 people.  An 
additional 1,000 metric tons of humanitarian cargo is 
scheduled to be shipped from Martinique and Guadeloupe on 
February 18.  In Paris, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 
Crisis Center continues to lead the French emergency response 
in Haiti and has mobilized a total of 225 agents to staff the 
crisis 24 hours a day.  The two dedicated crisis hotlines 
have received nearly 20,000 calls as of February 8. 
 
THE INITIAL FRENCH RECONSTRUCTION EFFORT 
---------------------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) The French reconstruction effort is led by 
Ambassador Pierre Dusquene, who is responsible for 
coordinating and implementing French aid in preparation for 
the international conference on the reconstruction of Haiti. 
The MFA has deployed 16 officers to support the coordination 
and reconstruction cell in the French Embassy in 
Port-au-Prince, in the hopes that the French mission will be 
fully operational for the start of the rebuilding phase. 
Although meetings in preparation of an international donors' 
conference have not yet been set, the GOF is fully mobilized 
to support the reconstruction effort and has committed to 
attending at all levels.  On January 25, FM Bernard Kouchner 
 
PARIS 00000159  002.16 OF 002 
 
 
participated in the prepatory conference on the 
reconstruction of Haiti in Montreal, where France committed 
to sending 100 gendarmes as a contingent of a larger EU 
mission. 
 
 
GOF EVACUATES AND UNITES HAITIAN ORPHANS WITH FRENCH FAMILIES 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
¶5.  (SBU) As of February 8, 277 Haitian orphans have been 
united with their adoptive French families in metropolitan 
France and others are expected to arrive in coming days. 
(Note: Each of the repatriations received official approval 
by the Haitian authorities.)  On the ground, the French 
Embassy is conducting routine visits to nurseries in 
three-man teams consisting of an MFA consular officer, a 
doctor, and a volunteer firefighter to help identify and 
protect at-risk children in the adoption proceedings as well 
as to assess the exact needs of the various institutions on 
the ground.  The French adoption teams in Haiti also work 
closely with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and 
the World Food Program (WFP) to identify potential Haitian 
orphans.  In conjunction with the French Embassy in 
Port-au-Prince and the MFA Crisis Center, the French Adoption 
Service (IAS) in Paris has worked to gather information from 
families and organizations authorized to adopt.  In addition 
to the seven agents sent to Haiti to manage the international 
adoption process, the Crisis Center has established a team to 
manage the adoption records and to maintain contact with 
adoptive families in France.  A special Crisis Center 
adoption hotline has been created and dedicated to fielding 
public inquiries.  To date, over 909 families are in contact 
with the Crisis Center in regards to the adoption of 999 
children. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Under the authority of PM Fillon, the MFA is 
working to establish a Joint Commission with Haitian 
authorities to expedite the procedures for children whose 
cases had reached the final stages of the adoption process. 
Speaking in front of Parliament on February 5, FM Kouchner 
said that France has a responsibility to "meet the 
expectations of French families while ensuring the interests 
of children under the Hague Convention."  In collaboration 
with other relevant adoption agencies, the MFA has also 
established a Franco-Haitian ad-hoc committee to facilitate 
the processing of documentation used in the adoption 
procedure.  The commission will make recommendations for 
cases where no decision has yet been made prior to the 
earthquake.  Ambassador in charge of international adoptions, 
Jean-Paul Monchau, is in Port-au-Prince to present the 
proposal of a bilateral monitoring commission to examine the 
adoption procedures to the Haitian authorities.  In 
compliance with international commitments and Haitian 
procedures, the proposal is meant to serve the best interest 
of the children.  According to MFA desk officer for Haiti 
Frederic Paruta on February 8, the NGOs, members of adoption 
organizations, and the GOF are ready to participate in this 
committee but are awaiting the official response of Haitian 
authorities. 
RIVKIN