LONDON, Jun 14 (IPS) – Changes have occurred recently in violence-torn Haiti. But it remains to be seen whether much-needed progress will result.
Acting Prime Minister Gary Corneal took office on June 3. Corneal, a former United Nations official who briefly served as prime minister a decade ago, was chosen as a compromise by the Transitional Presidential Council. A committee was formed in April to temporarily assume the functions of the presidency following the resignation of de facto leader Ariel Henry.
surge in violence
Haiti has experienced intense and widespread gang violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. As the conflict intensified, Henry was finally forced out. In February, two major gang networks joined forces. The gang attacked Haiti’s main airport, shutting it down for nearly three months and preventing Henry from returning from abroad.
The gang took control of the police station and Haight’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 prisoners. The violence targeted areas previously considered safe in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where the presidential palace, government buildings and embassies are located. Haitian citizens have paid a huge price. The United Nations estimates that gang violence killed or injured about 2,500 people in the first quarter of this year. This is a whopping 53% increase compared to the previous quarter.
Civil society will not miss Henry. He was widely perceived as lacking legitimacy. Moïse announced his appointment shortly before his assassination, but it was never formalized, and he subsequently won the power struggle, thanks in part to foreign support. His term was a blatant failure. It was when the gang appeared to be on the verge of total control of Port-au-Prince that Henry finally lost American support.
Now the United States, other states, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are lending their support to Congress and the Kenya-led international police force that recently began deploying.
competitive development
Gang leaders are expected to continue to resist these developments. The most prominent former police officer, Jimmy Sherridge, demands a role in all talks. But this seems like posturing. Chérizier likes to portray himself as a revolutionary who sides with the poor against the elite. But gangs are predatory. They kill innocent people, and it is the poorest who suffer the most. The gangs’ methods of making money – kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and smuggling – benefit from weak law enforcement and the absence of a central authority. It is best for gang leaders to remain in maximum chaos for as long as possible, and once the chaos is over, they will seek agreements with sympathetic politicians just as they enjoyed before.
Political bickering suits gangs, so the concern is that establishing the commission will require extensive and lengthy negotiations. The opaque process was characterized by self-serving maneuvers as politicians jostled for position and position.
The final organization has a total of nine members, seven voting and two observers. Of the seven, six are from political groups and seven are representatives of the private sector. One observer represents religious groups and other civil society. Régine Abraham, a crop scientist by profession, is from the Rally for a National Agreement.
Soon after the committee was formed, an advance party of Kenyan police arrived, followed by more troops. It’s been a really long time. The current plan for an international police force was adopted by UN Security Council resolution in October 2023. The Kenyan government took the lead, providing a thousand police officers while others provided fewer officers. But Kenya’s opposition won a court order temporarily banning the move. Henry was stranded by the airport closure and was in Kenya to sign a mutual security agreement to avoid sentencing.
Many Haitians are understandably wary of the possibility of foreign intervention. The country has a dark history of self-serving international interference, especially by the U.S. government, but UN forces have not been its saviors. From 2004 to 2017, peacekeeping missions led to sexual abuse and cholera outbreaks. This will be the 11th delegation organized by the United Nations since 1993, and all have been accused of human rights violations.
Civil society is concerned that Kenyan police do not understand local dynamics, citing a long history of violence and rights violations. There is also the question of whether the resources expended on the mission would not be better used to properly equip and support the Haitian military, which continues to be far less well-equipped than the gangs. Previous international initiatives have clearly failed to strengthen the capacity of Haitian institutions to protect rights and uphold the rule of law.
listening time
Haitian civil society is right to criticize the current process for falling short of expectations. No matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to expect one person to represent the diversity of Haitian civil society. And he doesn’t even have the right to vote. The power to make decisions by majority vote is in the hands of political parties that many feel have helped create the current mess.
The Commission is also a male-dominated body. Abraham is the only female member. With gangs routinely using sexual violence as a weapon, the Commission believes conditions are not conducive to building a Haiti free of violence against women and girls.
And given the role of international powers in making this happen, the Council, like the Kenya-led delegation, is open to accusations of yet another foreign intervention, raising suspicions about the motives of those behind it.
The latest step can be the start of something better, but only if it has a foundation and moves in the right direction. Civil society is demanding more female leadership and civil society participation from the government. In response to the Kenya-led delegation, civil society, like all previous delegations, is calling for strong human rights protections, including a means to have complaints heard if human rights violations are committed. You shouldn’t ask too many questions.
Andrew Fermin He is Editor-in-Chief of CIVICUS and co-director and writer of CIVICUS Lens, and co-author of the State of Civil Society report.
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© Interpress Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Interpress Service
