Governance

In the past, Haitian politicians used and had influence over gangs.  Now the gangs hold the power, controlling 95% of Port-au-Prince as well as the Artibonite and Ouest departments. Gangs charge "fees" for using national roads, kidnap and have attacked government and civilian infrastructure, including the national airport, national palace, and a prison which freed 4,000 criminals, swelling their ranks.  Embassies and international NGOs are evacuating their staff leaving Haitians feeling abandoned when most in need.  A transition council is being formed and the Kenyan-led Multi-National Securtiy Support Mission (MSS) remains pending.  More information on the increasingly grim situation follows in a New Humanitarian piece by Daniela Mohor. 

Kenya's Foreign Ministry said his country is ready to lead a multinational force into Haiti, which is experiencing a surge in violence between police and gangs.  During a time when so few countries are willing to get involved in Haiti's increasingly desperate situation, it is refreshing to see a country, and one that is not even remotely close to Haiti geographically, offer to take a leadership role.  The proposed 1,000 police officers would help train and assist the Haitian National Police in restoring security.  The deployment would still require a U.N Security Council mandate and formal approvals in Kenya.  The brief article is linked and follows, updates will be posted in comments. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has appointed William O’Neill as an independent expert on human rights in Haiti   He will monitor the human-rights situation in Haiti and provide advice and technical assistance to the Haitian government, national human rights institutions and civil society organisations.  Promoting respect for human rights should be an important aspect of re-establishing security, and one hopes, longer term development in Haiti.  The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald is linked and follows. 

The United Nations emphasizes that Haiti is in a dire situation and now is not the time to deport Haitians. The majority of deportations take place from the Dominican Republic with neither due process nor advance notice to the Haitian authorities responsible for receiving them. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports 154,333 Haitians were expelled by the Dominican Republic last year - about 87% of all deportations to Haiti in 2022.  It is true that insecurity in Haiti affect the Dominican Republic as well - but conducting mass deportations only makes a bad situation worse - politically, economically, and for human rights. The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows. 

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a brief but stark warning about the threat posed to Haitian children by gang violence, cholera, and malnutrition.  The situation in Haiti is difficult, but especially so for children.  Emboldened gangs, a growing cholera epidemic, and worsening malnutrition are negatively impacting the well-being of Haitian children.  The government is weak, the gangs are in many cases better armed than the police, and core development issues like agriculture, education, infrastructure, and human rights have once again taken a back seat to insecurity.  Restoring security won't solve Haiti's problems but it is at least a prequisite.

Insecurity in Port au Prince and beyond continues to negatively impact the economy, health care, and other basic services throughout the country.  MSF/Doctors Without Borders, which operates in insecure environments around the world, has temporarily shut down a second time.  Due to lack of fuel, clinics are suspending operations - this at a time, when cholera cases are increasing.  The UN is calling for a humanitarian corridor through which both fuel and aid workers can transit safely.  It wouldn't solve the fundamental problems but it would at least reduce the severity fo the current situation.  The full article article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows. 

The Biden Administration will now allow Haitians who were in the United States as of May 21 ro apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).  This will protect Haiitians from being deported which is especially important given the ongoing pandemic, political instability, as well as kidnappings and other forms of violence that come with it.  This also gives Haitians, who are nothing if not hard working, the freedom to work legally so they can contribute to the communities where they live. More information on this welome development from the Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles follows below. 

Haiti has many surnames including "Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere", "Republic of 10,000 NGOs, and "at a Crossroads".  For all is beauty and potential, it remains held back by poor governance, political intsability, and crushing poverty.  It's a hard narrative to change when most of the coverage is of flawed elections (or no elections), power struggles, and protests.  If the Haitian government truly wants to change how it is viewed it needs to show that it cares about and invests in its own people.  The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends starting with COVID vaccination - which has not yet taken place.  It would be a start.  

As of April 2021, Haiti still does not have vaccines to offer its population of over 11 million people.  Political instability, insecurity, and poor governance continue to hinder efforts to procure vaccine and sensitize the public.  Haiti was slated to receive 756,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine but missed a crucial deadline for doing so.  The more the Haitian government is prepared to do in responding to COVID-19, the more the international community can support it.  The full article in the Guardian follows. 

There is a long history of peace-keeping operationa in Haiit - as well as a long history of peace-keepers exploting women and children.  A Haitian court has ordered a former UN peacekeeper from Uruguay to pay child support to a women he impregnated in 2011. This case is a step towards justice for the mother and the child but it could also encourage more court cases nationally and globally.   In Haiti alone, hundreds of children may have been fathered by UN peacekeepers. The full article by New Humanitarian Journalist Paisley Dodds follows.