Haiti
Expected Council Action
In early September the Council is due to receive a report from the Secretary-General on the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). It is possible that the Council will discuss Haiti in September, but at press time no decision had been made. The MINUSTAH mandate expires on 15 October.
Key Recent Developments
In his capacity as UN Special Envoy to Haiti, former US President Bill Clinton nominated Dr. Paul Farmer his deputy on 11 August. The physician and Harvard University professor will serve as UN Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti, and will assist in advancing economic and social development in the country.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Clinton’s appointment as the UN Special Envoy on 19 May. Clinton plans to make another trip to Haiti in October, accompanied by international investors, with the aim of boosting business opportunities and fostering economic development.
Clinton made his first visit to Haiti as UN Special Envoy from 6 to 8 July. This was aimed at assessing how best to support government efforts to improve social services, strengthen disaster preparedness and create economic opportunities. Clinton met representatives from business and NGOs. Accompanied by Haitian President René Préval, he also visited communities devastated by four successive tropical storms and hurricanes in 2008.
On 22 June MINUSTAH congratulated Haiti for holding peaceful and well-run senate elections in June. These were run-off elections following a first round on 19 April. Voting was extremely light for the June run-off. Turnout for the April elections was estimated at only around 11 percent. The elections were long-delayed, having been originally scheduled for late 2007.
On 14 April, the Inter-American Development Bank hosted the Haiti Donors Conference in Washington, at which $324 million of commitments were made.
Human Rights-Related Developments
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The Human Rights Council held an interactive dialogue on 17 June on the report of the Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Haiti, Michel Forst. Focusing on law and order, Forst welcomed the commitment of top Haitian leaders to reforming the police and the judiciary, including combating corruption. He foreshadowed a number of areas that required strengthening including training of law enforcement and judicial personnel. The HRC has scheduled a further interactive dialogue on reports of the Independent Expert on Haiti for its 14th session in June 2010. The Expert indicated that women’s rights would be a feature of his next report. |
Key Issues
Poverty, crime and security in Haiti remain key issues. A related issue is political stability. Although the recent elections were held in a relatively peaceful and orderly fashion, the low voter turnout likely signals a degree of political dissatisfaction and disengagement of the people from the political elite.
As Council members look forward to the mandate renewal, another issue will be whether MINUSTAH’s mandate should be adjusted to better address the issues faced by Haiti.
Options
One option is for Council members’ experts to have an initial round of discussions prior to the usual meetings of the “Friends” group, especially bearing in mind the relevant conclusions on peacebuilding from the Secretary-General’s report of 11 June, the Council debate on 22 July on peacebuilding and in the Council presidential statement of 5 August on peacekeeping missions, which stressed the importance of integrating peacebuilding dimensions (S/PRST/2009/24).
Council Dynamics
Some Council members are concerned that the political process is proceeding so slowly in Haiti. The low voter turnout is a worrying benchmark. They had hoped that the government might now be somewhat better equipped to work toward goals in poverty reduction and security. It remains to be seen how well founded that hope is.
There is agreement among Council members that the economic situation in Haiti remains a continuing concern. The response to the April Donors Conference in Washington is viewed as a positive development. However, there seems to be consensus that Haiti continues to require ongoing security assistance and that MINUSTAH still has a significant role to play.
In terms of security, national police training is proceeding but lags behind the security needs of the country. Drug smuggling and human trafficking are issues in border areas.
Some feel that because the size of the peacekeeping force is considerable, an adjustment to its composition might be possible. China has said it may be useful to include the composition of MINUSTAH as part of the ongoing discussion about peacekeeping more generally.
The US and France are the lead countries on this issue in the Council.
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Selected Council Resolution |
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Selected Secretary-General’s Report |
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Selected Presidential Statements |
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Selected Letter |
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Selected Meeting Records |
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Other |
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Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINUSTAH |
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Hédi Annabi (Tunisia) |
