Niko Kyriakou

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 2005 (IPS) — The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti needs to be expanded and extended if elections later this year are to be free, fair, and safe, according to a new Security Council assessment.

Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Sardenberg, who led a fact-finding team drawn from the council’s 15 members states, told the apex security body the planned elections represent the most important short-term goal for the strife-torn Caribbean nation.

”Holding elections late this year constitutes the most pressing and visible challenge for the Haitians and the international community in the short term,” Sardenberg told council members Friday. ”Although not a universal remedy, elections are essential for the formation of a legitimate government, thus concluding the transitional period which started more than one year ago.”

Since rebel forces ousted long-time president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February of last year, the interim government that has run Haiti has been unable to stabilise the country amidst fighting for control over various regions between former soldiers, armed Aristide supporters, and criminal gangs, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) assessment last month.

Sardenberg said he ”strongly encouraged” donor countries and international financial institutions to disburse 1.3 billion dollars in pledges they made to Haiti as far back as last July, including an undelivered 22 million dollars for election support, and said that the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission should be extended for an additional year to ensure successful elections.

”There can be no general stability without advances in the creation of a safe and secure environment, in the political dialogue with a view to national reconciliation, in the observance of human rights, and in the promotion of social and economic development,” he said.

After four peacekeeping missions to the country since 1985, the U.N. launched a fifth mission, The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), last June to establish security, promote human rights, and support the political process.

MINUSTAH’s 7,400 peacekeepers are scheduled to leave next month unless the Security Council extends their deployment.

Tanzanian Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, who represents his country on the Security Council and was part of the assessment team sent to Haiti, said that the past four missions were ”prematurely terminated and superficially successful” but expressed confidence in the future role of MINUSTAH.

”This time around, MINUSTAH should be enabled to make a difference by adequately stabilising the country and laying a foundation for a comprehensive peace-building strategy which addresses the societal crisis in Haiti rooted in its history, society, and culture,” Mahiga said.

He added that despite getting off to a slow start both in terms of deployment and because some of its resources had been diverted to other humanitarian needs in the country, MINUSTAH was ”steadily stabilising” the country and containing violence to a level where the transitional government can operate and civilians can live in relative security.

”In the current peacekeeping mission there are ample opportunities to sow the seeds for a sustainable peace-building phase,” he said.

Even so, HRW, Global Justice, and other rights advocates have attacked MINUSTAH for failing to properly protect citizens from violence, disarm the warring factions, and regulate the Haitian police.

”Criminal and political violence has killed hundreds of Haitians while the perpetrators enjoy overwhelming impunity,” said Joanne Mariner, deputy Americas director at HRW. ”The authorities’ failure to investigate and punish daily acts of violence creates a climate of impunity in which abuses flourish and people feel completely defenseless.”

The Security Council assessment report acknowledged early problems with the mission but accused interest groups of exaggerating.

Mahiga, echoing the report, called for MINUSTAH to improve its collaboration with the Haitian national police force, specifically through help with recruitment, training, equipment, and the ”professionalisation of its work ethic.”

The report also calls for reform of the judicial system to combat the widespread impunity of criminals and human rights offenders and suggests that MINUSTAH launch a public relations campaign to communicate to the Haitian people its role in the country.

It further recommends better integration of the local population into the reconciliation process and political activity, and Security Council members suggested that the opposition be included in the country’s political dialogue.

Turning to long-term rehabilitation, Mahiga told the council that ”poverty has been the root cause of instability in Haiti.” Besides calling for employment-generating projects in the post-election period, he also said that ”conditions should be put in place to create a political climate which inspires the confidence of future investors.”

Canadian Ambassador Allan Rock, chairman of the Economic and Social Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, also urged greater international support for the country’s economic recovery.

”Ultimately, the chief responsibility for the building of a stable and democratic Haiti rests in the hands of the Haitian people themselves. However, the international community must offer its commitment and support over the long term,” Rock said.

He called on the Haitian interim government to anchor its medium-term planning in a Millennium Development Goal Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which is the World Bank’s guideline for poverty-related aid recipients.

The report encourages donors to share ”full cooperation with Haiti” and to support infrastructure initiatives such as road repair and construction, energy generation and transmission, reforestation, and management of water resources.