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This seems like an excellent idea to aid development. Though I echo some of the criticisms that it may just be a starting point to develop citizenship, and is it sustainable if foreign donors pull out?

If donors pull out from one day to the other, probably many of the achievements will not be sustained. This is why it is very important that all the assistance provided by donors is well coordinated with Haitian local authorities, and there must be a continuous transfer of knowledge and capabilities.  Besides, projects must have a plan to transfer all responsibilities to Haitian institutions, which at the same time have to be prepared to absorb these. Regarding civil registration, this is a priority for the country, and there is a clear transfer plan between donors and Haitian authorities, so that by 2012 Haiti is capable of sustaining a modern civil registry permanently.

Universal civil registration is an important characteristic of all modern states; J. Scott, a famous political scientist, writes about "legibility" the process whereby all individuals located within the boundaries of a nation are identified as subject of the nation.  The key issue, is how "legibility" generates citizenship, or full acceptance of one's integration into the moral community of the nation.  This is a very complicated process, it requires a modicum of social, economic, and political equality among all members of a community.  As we all know, we are very far from any such equality in Haiti; while achieving this equality may require "legibility," legibility on its own will not do so.  In fact, as Scott points out, legibility may be a very useful means of controlling and in some instances repressing the larger population.  The political history of Haiti has left most Haitians rather suspicious of the intentions of the state; the typical reaction to the state is to seek "exit" from its control.  This is not surprising since the state has been for long periods of Haiti's history an instrument of predation.  If that predatory character were to change, then legibility would be a useful tool to improve social conditions and empower the population.  But, again, this cannot be done without narrowing the economic, and moral distance existing between the privileged minority and poor majority.   This in turn is a function of political struggles and compromises.  

This sustainability of such projects is a key factor to consider. The OAS project in Haiti about the Modernization and Integration of the Civil Registry has a specific component oriented to make the transfert of the technology, knowledges etc to Haitian authorities. It is a progressive process that needs a lot of collaboration and coordination between both institutions, but it is possible to do it. However all those efforts will need the support of a political will to make sure that the national institution will be provided with the financial and administrative means to assure the continuity of it. 

Thanks for the answers to my questions... perhaps I can go further by asking - if the civil registry is a building block in the ciitzen and state-building process, what are the next steps and what is the ultimate end goal?

  I believe that the next steps involve more inclusive societies, where everybody is recognized as a legal citizen by the State, being subject to the rights and duties that this entails. Having a civil identity does give a person greater opportunities to overcome exclusion, access basic services and participate in the economic and political life of the State. However, it does not guarantee this. If States fail to reach the most isolated populations and cannot provide them with protection and basic services such as health and education, many people will remain excluded, distant from the State, despite having a birth certificate. This means the “ full acceptance of one's integration into the moral community of the nation” , which Professor Fatton mentioned, will not come about so easily. 

However, it is important to mention that even though there is a lot more work to do after attaining universal birth registration; this is the first step in order to foster more just, inclusive societies. Without having precise information regarding its population, a State cannot  elaborate sound development plans to provide basic services.

Hello everyone,

Looking very interesting........

Citizenry I agree is a fundamental prerequisite towards a more cohesive society. Would an end goal be to move towards an Americas Bill of Rights? What is the bottom line for all humanity? To look at regional adoption or even eventual global adoption, what would be the benefits and or pitfalls of such a strategy? How necessary is it to have such drastic differences in the concept of citizenry and the rights that come with it?  How does Haiti benefit by going through a long staged buy in to an eventual 21st century cohesive sustainable state?

I do know if I really unsterdood the word "legibility" it seems like "legitimacy". I agree it could be a real tool if it was done to contribute to a more inclusive society. I do also recognize one of Haitian characteristics to look forward an exit. It is a legacy for slavery (marronnage). But considering this characterics and the fact that is really important for a modern state to get control of its subjects, it is necessary to face the reality by laying emphasis on the functional aspects  of the civilian registration.

Nowadays, any indivual to prove his existence and adherence (membership) should need his title or document whose data come from civil registry. In Haiti, I think there is not so much suspicion about the civilian registration but who is responsible of it?

I thought I'd add a bit of background that is relevent to this discussion, and in particular to the questions put to Robert Fatton in the short interview included in this forum. As the electoral analyst for the International Mission to Monitor Haitian Elections (and as a politcal scientist concerned with the dynamics of democratic development) I closely followed the 2005 voter registration and, more interestingly, the card distribution process, visiting many distribution sites in in the Port au Prince area and Jacmel. It became clear that the 'value' or percieved worth of the cards varied across regions (we also followed the distribution in all departments through our long term observors stationed across the country). Intially, as the cards became available, there were crowds waiting hours to pick up their cards. This was seen more in the urban areas, where the cards were percieved to have value in gaining access to more than just voter registration. In some of the advertisments posted to encourage people to register, the visual graphics appeared to suggest that the card was a first step to getting a passport. The cards certainly came to quickly be used as ID for dealing with banks, setting up cel phone accounts etc.  During the first week of distribution in Petion Ville, one young man was so distraught after waiting in line three hours only to discover his card had not yet arrived (another story) he sobbed and had to be restrained and assured that his card would arrive in a future shipment. These intial crowds, seen through out the country, dissipated after the first couple weeks, and card distribution rates fell dramtically.  We collected considerable data on this and it became clear that to a certain segment of society, urban based and or better educated, the cards were percieved to be of real value. On election day, an elderly woman, confined to a wheelchair, insisted I take a picture of her holding up her card with a defiant, I count look on her face.

I'm wondering if we can hear from the OAS experts on the topic of resistance to the registry program. Throughout history, we have often seen populations wary of being accounted for (by means of a census, etc) as that can lead to more precise taxation and invasion into their lives. Have any Haitians expressed a similar desire to not stand up and be counted?

While an Americas Bill of Rights would be nice it is difficult to see how it would be enforced.  In fact, the current Constitution of Haiti guarantees all types of economic and politcal rights and yet most Haitians fail to enjoy them.  There is an old Creole proverb that captures the idea that well drafted documents are quite beautiful but do not necessarily correspond to the living reality:  "Konstitisyon se papye, bayonet se fe" (A constitution is made up of paper, but bayonets are made up of steel.)  In short, if those in power are not willing to accept equal citizenship for all, it is difficult to see how a consitution or a bill of rights would compel them to do so.  Those in privileged positions are unlikely to share their privileges without enormous pressures from "below" and without a spirit of compromise.  This is the gordian knot; how to untie it is the single most most critical question, but it is the most difficult to answer.

A related post from a Governance Village blogger on the topic of sustainable development in Haiti:  http://www.governancevillage.org/blogs/radiosilen/remittancescouldtheirdisappearancesendhaitiandlati

I think that Robert Fatton has a good point -- a citizen's perception of possessing equal rights does not make it so, particularly in a society as unequal as Haiti.  So where a bill of rights would undoubtedly add little to the quality of democracy and standards of living, why would a national registry be any more useful?  I can certainly see the value from an administrative perspective, and I agree with Timothy Pershing that ID cards can ease daily concerns, but it occurs to me that the value of a standard registration system is overwhelmingly instrumental.  Census data that it would allow us to compile can translate into better targeted projects, for example.  I would hesitate, however, to attribute too much to the initiative.  A sense of citizenship and general inclusion in a political and social community is an exceptionally difficult thing to create in the absence of meaningful political stability.

To answer to Mr. Jennings, there are different reasons that may explained a sub registry rate in a country. In Haiti, many factors may intervene such as the distance to reach the local civil registry office (particularly), lack of financial means to pay the legal fees to issue a judgement (if they are registered 2 years or more after the birth), lack of education, etc. Cases of persons that you mentionned may appear in Haiti, too, but they are certainly not the most frequent cases.

How do we determine our willingness to provide assistance? What markers when looking at situations decree a response? Would it not make sense to create the fundamental basis of protections for all humanity? With the Americas Bill of Rights in place, the process of subsequent layers of governance becomes out of reach to the elitists in privileged positions as our call to provide the offering of aid or assistance in the implementation and sustainment of governance becomes clear within a uniform Bill of Rights. It is true that difficulties in reaching the level of an Americas Bill of Rights and beyond would be broad in scope. I do believe however that the benefits of an achievement of this magnitude outweigh any unforeseeable pitfalls. The opposite I believe is true when looking at the track record of independent declarations within the sovereign state systems. The rise to sustainable success void of internal conflict as in the case of Haiti would be long and full of many pitfalls. The international community with a large willingness to help is currently held up by strict view of sovereignty that creates the very road blocks we are discussing. What is the bottom line, humanity or sovereignty? How do we in the international community focus our purpose and come to grips with the competing forces in our quest for a world that has some level of convergence of thought where we more often see I to I than not?

To Mr. Jennings - The OAS has been working in civil registry modernization projects for many years, providing technical assistance to various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In most cases, people do not oppose receiving identity documents, on the contrary, they are grateful as they are being attended, receiving a service, and getting something in return (even though it might only be a piece of paper for many). Many of the people supported in registration campaigns, for example, do not have a civil registry document because they have faced various obstacles to obtain one, such as distance from a civil registry office, economic costs, legal requirements, social problems, etc. On the other hand, there are others who do not see the need of a civil identity document, but do not oppose getting one either. In some cases, certain communities resist civil registration; but this is not necessarily for taxation reasons, since in Latin America the use of the civil registry documents is not related to taxation purposes. Resistance is more due to lack of information, mistrust of State institutions, or in particular indigenous communities which chose to remain isolated from society and the State. However, this is more the exception than the norm.  

In response to Troy, I do believe that there is a tension between sovereignty and the imposition of the will of the "international community."  I believe, however, that the problem goes beyond that tension.  On too many occasions the strategic interests and power--military and economic--of a few countries decide what is the "will" of the "international community."  There is a real danger that such "wll" smacks of a new form of imperial decision making.  On the other hand, there are conditions that are so appaling that it is difficult not to wish for some form of international intervention.  In my mind, however, international intervention can lead to disaster; it seems to me that the role played by the "international community" in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to bloody impasses rather than any triumph of human rights or democracy.  Finally, even when well intentioned, international intervention tends to generate in the targeted society a wave of nationalistic sentiments and resentment against what is perceived with the passage of time as alien occupiers.