Brasília, May 20, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The floor of the Federal Senate approved a message signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The text, voted in the Chamber and the Senate under the rules of urgency, requests the assignment of 1,200 Brazilian soldiers to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Brazil was invited by the UN to lead the group of 6,700 military personnel who, beginning in June, will be in charge of re-establishing peace in the country and preparing the society for new presidential, state, and municipal elections before the end of 2005. Other tasks include maintaining law and order, disarming rebel militias, providing security and protection to civilians, guaranteeing the restoration of democracy, and overseeing compliance with human rights.

The Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, informed the Foreign Relations and National Defense Commissions of both houses that leading the mission is important for Brazil's consolidation as a reference in the Americas and its candidacy for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

In an open hearing in Congress on May 12, Amorim emphasized that Brazil's size and political importance confer it a large responsibility in the Americas. "And if we don't exercise this responsibility in our continent, others will," he remarked at the meeting, which was presided by Senator Eduardo Suplicy.

EXPENSES

The Brazilian government estimates that the mission will cost about US$ 50 million (R$ 150 million). Within six months the UN will reimburse nearly half of this amount, around US$ 20 million (R$ 60 million), to cover payments to the soldiers and wear and tear on military materiele.

The troops - 970 from the Army and 230 Marines, according to information provided by the Ministry of Defense - will be transported to Central America on Brazilian Air Force planes and four ships. According to General Salvador de Oliveira, head of the Brazilian mission, the first soldiers will leave on May 28. The rest will depart from Rio de Janeiro on May 31 and June 18.

"The troops are trained to maintain the peace," the General remarked. He believes that his subordinates won't have any problems, since the country has returned to "relative normalcy." "Schools, banks, and other institutions are functioning normally. Moreover, we shall be replacing a peace force that has already been there," he says, without, however, excluding the possibility that conflicts might arise.

Translator: David Silberstein