Human Rights Watch supports UN peacekeeping mission for Haiti. But it has recommendations
Haiti’s crisis has reached catastrophic levels and the country urgently needs a full-fledged United Nations mission to stem the intensifying violence being carried out by heavily armed allied criminal groups that have been launching coordinated attacks on the population and against key infrastructure, Human Rights Watch says.
The watchdog group, which has approached such a deployment with caution in the past given Haiti’s history of failed U.N. interventions, is now adding its voice to those looking to the U.N. to provide a solution to the escalating gang violence rapidly spreading hunger and fear as Haitians continue to wade through a new crisis: Days of torrential rain last week triggered flooding and mudslides in communities in the north and south of the country, where many had fled to escape the gangs in Port-au-Prince.
With more than 700,000 already internally displaced by gangs, U.N. humanitarian agencies last week warned that the natural disaster was adding to an already dire reality as millions across the country struggle daily to find adequate food, water and healthcare in the face of closed hospitals and cut off roads.
“The Haitian people have endured so much and waited so long for a meaningful international response to the crisis,” said Ida Sawyer, crisis, conflict and arms director at Human Rights Watch. “The U.N. has the opportunity now to get it right— by authorizing a strong new human rights-compliant U.N. mission and mobilizing the necessary resources so it can effectively work with the Haitian people to restore security, ensure access to basic necessities, and address the root causes of instability.”
Haiti is grappling with not just a security crisis but a profound constitutional crisis. Its last presidential election was held in 2016 and despite pressure from the U.S. and others to lay the ground work for new elections, armed gangs continue to pose a major threat. In a briefing paper on the security situation in Haiti, Human Rights Watch said the Haiti National Police, the armed Multinational Security Support Mission and a transitional government, put in place in March with the support of the United States, Caribbean Community and others — have all failed to deliver.
The police are under-equipped and understaffed, while many officers are implicated in serious human rights abuses or have links to criminal groups, the report said. Furthermore, the transitional government, which last month installed a new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, after sacking longtime U.N. civil servant Garry Conille after less than six months in office, “has fallen short in taking meaningful steps to restore the rule of law, root out corruption, or plan for the organization of credible elections.”
The Kenya-led Multinational Security Support, MSS, mission, which had offered hope as it deployed in late June, has also proven ineffective against the gangs, Human Rights Watch. It cited governments failure to provide the mission, which also draws security personnel from Jamaica, Belize and The Bahamas, with enough resources to make it fully operational.
“Haitians say that the fear of attacks by criminal groups has taken over their daily lives, and millions struggle to find food, water, and health care,” Sawyer said. “A new, full-fledged U.N. mission that respects rights and builds on the initial UN efforts could provide the Haitian people a genuine opportunity to reconstruct their lives with hope and dignity.”
The United States has so far been the largest contributor to the Kenya-led mission, providing more than $300 million in funding, armored vehicles, a base of operations and other support. But it has not been enough. A U.N. Trust Fund has only amassed $97.4 million, further hampering its ability to be effective or fully operational.
Last week, Kenya Force Commander Godfrey Otunge refuted claims in a report by the news agency Reuters that a delay in pay for Kenyan troops and poor working conditions in Haiti had led to the resignation of 20 police officers in the mission. Otunge said officers remain “highly motivated and fully committed to supporting the Haitian national police” in conducting operations and called the information on members’ resignation “inaccurate and malicious.”
Still, the mission’s funding and resource have been well documented challenges, and had led to the mission remaining in its pre-deployment phase with just 416 of the 2,500-strong security personnel it supposed to have. This has led to the Biden administration pushing for its transformation into an official U.N. peacekeeping mission. The proposal has the support of many countries in Latin America, as well as the endorsement of the 15-member Caribbean Community known as CARICOM.
China and Russia, which are permanent members of the Security Council and have veto power, have balked at the idea. During a recent U.N. Security Council debate on Haiti their representatives argued there is no peace to keep in Haiti and cited the present chaotic situation in Haiti as well as the past failings of U.N. interventions.
Nevertheless, the nations, which have veto power and have yet to contribute to the MSS’s funding, did allow the Security Council to ask U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to present recommendations for the role the U.N. could play in addressing the security crisis as well as humanitarian, and economic situation in Haiti, if the MSS were to become a full U.N. peacekeeping mission.
The letter dated on November 29 and obtained by the Miami Herald, requests that Guterres provides a comprehensive assessment of the current Haiti context and information on the ongoing U.N. and international efforts along with “strategic-level recommendations” within the next 60 to 90 days.
Guterres, Human Rights Watch said, should offer clear and comprehensive recommendations for the swift transformation of the MSS into a mission that advances human rights and accountability to promote security and the rule of law in Haiti.
In a briefing paper, Human Rights Watch has also offered guidance on what a newly re-envisioned U.N. mission in Haiti should look like. The group’s recommendations don’t differ that much from the current criteria of the MSS, which requires U.S. vetting of all security personnel and adherence to international human rights standards. However, Human Rights Watch does expand on the current mandate, which is supposed to include protecting key infrastructure from gang attacks as well as the population from imminent threats of physical violence.
Among the recommendations being put forward by Human Rights Watch, which agrees it should be a police-led operation:
▪ Human rights monitors and public reporting on rights abuses, including by criminal groups, Haitian security forces and U.N. mission members should be part of the mission. Children’s rights, the prevention of sexual violence, and the protection of populations living in areas under the control of criminal groups, should be a key focus.
▪ Special considerations for children, and conditions should be created to allow them to safely surrender.
▪ Intelligence support from the U.N. security mission to the Haitian authorities as they seek to investigate, arrest and appropriately prosecute abusive leaders of criminal groups and those backing these groups, as well as other individuals responsible for serious crimes.
▪ An independent board should be created to ensure accountability. Members should include Haitian civil society and community-based groups tasked with monitoring and reporting on the international force’s conduct and performance. This should be known to the Haitian public and accessible with an independent complaints procedures for the public; an independent investigation branch with a gender perspective; and procedures to share evidence with other countries’ judicial systems to better ensure accountability in the countries of origin of forces responsible for violations of international norms and U.N. codes of conduct.
▪ Specialized programs to encourage and support people associated with violent criminal groups who choose to leave the groups, with special attention paid to trauma-informed support for children associated with such groups.
“A new mission should be viewed as an opportunity to address past failures, advance reparations for abuses committed during past international interventions, and ensure mechanisms are in place to promote accountability to rebuild public trust,” Human Rights Watch said, while advocating for regular consultations from Haitian stakeholders.
The dire situation in Haiti has been compounded by a fresh round of attacks by criminal groups that have been gaining ground in Port-au-Prince and other neighboring communities for months. The violence is fueling deeper despair as the number of children recruited into gangs skyrocket, and women and girls continue to be subjected to horrific sexual violence.
Already this year, armed groups have killed at least 4,544 people while 4,000 women and girls reported being sexual violated, including gang raped, according to the U.N.
The intensifying violence has forced the departure or relocation of international aid workers; the internal displacement of an additional 50,000 people and a disruption to U.S. commercial and cargo air travel after an attack on three U.S. airlines prompted a ban from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Over the weekend, as human rights workers and police were investigating reports of a new gang massacre in Port-au-Prince, American Airlines confirmed the indefinite suspension of its daily service between Miami and Port-au-Prince’s International Airport, dealing another blow to the country.
Haitians, the group said, are calling for a strong international response to help restore basic security, but they also stress the need to avoid the failings of past interventions and for it to be part of a comprehensive response that also addresses the root causes of Haiti’s instability.
“A U.N. mission could provide increased resources, expertise, and international coordination to strengthen judicial and security institutions, while ensuring a human rights-based approach,” Lionel Bourgoin, the Port-au-Prince government commissioner, is quoted as telling Human Rights Watch. He, however, underscored that “transparency and consultation with civil society actors, judicial authorities, and affected local populations must be at the heart of the process to ensure its effectiveness and legitimacy.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 12:30 AM.
