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24547: Arthur (pub) "Keeping the Peace in Haiti?" a new report on UN mission in Haiti





"Keeping the Peace in Haiti?" a new report on the UN mission in Haiti by the
Harvard Law School/Global Justice Center (Centro de Justiça Global) can be
read online at:

http://www.global.org.br/haitienglish.pdf

Executive Summary:

A little over a year since international pressure and an armed rebellion
forced the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the collapse of his
government, Haiti is at risk of becoming a permanent failed state. The presence
of the United Nations (â??U.N.â??) peacekeeping force, established three months
after Aristideâ??s controversial ouster, has done little to establish stability,
protect the populace, or curb human rights violations. This report critiques
the performance of that peacekeeping force, the United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (â??MINUSTAHâ??), by documenting its failure to effectuate not
only the overriding spirit but even the plain terms of its mandate.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1542 established MINUSTAH on June 1, 2004
and endowed the mission with a strong mandate in three principal areas:
providing a secure and stable environment, particularly through disarmament;
supporting the political process and good governance in preparation for upcoming
elections; and monitoring and reporting on human rights. As this report details,
MINUSTAH has made little, if any, progress on any of these three fronts. Although
partially a consequence of the slow deployment of forces and personnel,
MINUSTAHâ??s failures are largely the result of the timid interpretation of its
mandate by its officials. Even now, staffed in full, the peacekeeping force
continues to interpret its mandate complacently and with a narrowness unfit
for the situation on the ground.

After eight months under MINUSTAHâ??s watch, Haiti is as insecure as ever.
MINUSTAH has failed even to begin to implement a comprehensive program for
disarmament, leaving large pockets of the country effectively ruled by illegal groups
with guns and other weapons. Civilian casualties remain common in
Port-au-Princeâ??s slums, where gangs wage daily, low-level urban warfare. Large swaths of
the poor countryside remain under the control of the former military,
historically the major domestic force behind coups dâ??états and among the foremost
violators of human rights.

In the area of human rights, MINUSTAH has been equally lax. Numerous
allegations of severe human rights abuses by the Haitian National Police (â??HNPâ??)
remain uninvestigated. These violations span a gory spectrum, from arbitrary
arrest and detention, to disappearances and summary executions, to killing of
scores of hospitalized patients and the subsequent disposal of their bodies at mass
graves. As this report details, MINUSTAH has effectively provided cover for
the police to wage a campaign of terror in Port-au-Princeâ??s slums. Even more
distressing than MINUSTAHâ??s complicity in HNP abuses are credible allegations of
human rights abuses perpetrated by MINUSTAH itself, as documented in this
report. MINUSTAH, however, has virtually ignored these allegations as well,
relegating them to obscurity and thus guaranteeing that abuses go uncorrected. In
short, instead of following the specific prescription of its mandate by putting
an end to impunity in Haiti, MINUSTAHâ??s failures have ensured its
continuation.

The MINUSTAH mandate provides ample ground for a robust approach to security,
disarmament and human rights. Indeed, as set forth in this report, its
mandate requires a serious and active commitment to furthering peace in Haiti.
Although the MINUSTAH mission has virtually squandered eight critical months, the
time is not yet too late to begin an earnest application of its mandate. We
continue to believe MINUSTAH holds tremendous promise to help Haiti achieve
peace, stability and respect for human rights. With elections slated for the end of
2005, the time is now for MINUSTAH to commit itself to rigorous enforcement
of its mandate.

_____


This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group.

See the Haiti Support Group web site:
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org

Solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for justice, participatory
democracy and equitable development, since 1992.