Background

Haiti has a troubled history. Its politics have been characterized by power struggles and violent rebellions. For thirty years Haiti was ruled under the notoriously brutal Duvalier dictatorships. Francois Duvalier ruled from 1956 until his death in 1971, when he was replaced by his 19 year old son Jean-Claude Duvalier. Jean-Claude ruled Haiti until he was forced to flee the country in 1986. The Duvalier regimes were responsible for widespread human rights violations. When, in 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected as Haiti’s new president, it was hoped that Haiti’s fortune would change and the country could be turned around.

However Aristide was ousted just a year after he was elected, in a coup led by Brigadier-General Raoul Cedras. The United States intervened in 1994 to return Aristide to power. After the US withdrew, UN peacekeepers remained to help stabilize the country. In 1995 Haiti voted in a new president, Rene Prevel, who ruled until 2000, when Aristide was re-elected. Aristide’s second period of rule was marred by allegations of voting fraud and reports of human rights abuses committed by the Haitian police force.

In January 2004, violence erupted in Haiti, as growing support for anti-Aristide rebels spurred protests across the country. Clashes between the rebels and Aristide supporters grew increasingly violent and the rebels took over significant areas of the country. In February 2004 the rebels moved on the capitol, Port-au-Prince, and forced Aristide into exile.

Today

The country is led by interim president Boniface Alexander, who took power after Aristide fled. The situation in Haiti following Aristide’s exile was extremely unstable and the United Nations authorized the United States to send Marines in February 2004 to help keep the peace. The Marines withdrew on June 25, 2004. Their role in stabilizing the country was transferred to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

MINUSTAH was created by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1542 (2004). It is authorized to have a force of up to 6,700 troops and 1,600 civilian police. However, it currently has only 2,765 troops and 224 civilian police. The bulk of this force is 1,200 Brazilian soldiers, and MINUSTAH is commanded by a Brazilian general - Lt. Gen. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira.

MINUSTAH is tasked with stabilizing the country during the rule of Boniface Alexander’s transitional government, helping to train a new police force, disarming the various armed groups, monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation, and helping the transitional government carry out free and fair elections. However, it has not been able to stabilize the entire country because it has less than half the number of troops authorized by Security Council Resolution 1542. MINUSTAH troops have been deployed in most of the major cities, but have not been able to extend control into rural areas or the border with the Dominican Republic.

According to the Secretary General’s most recent report on Haiti, there has been a “gradual improvement” in the security situation since the creation of MINUSTAH, but armed groups continue to control some parts of the country. Moreover, according to the Secretary General “violence and gunfire, including killings, home invasions, acts of retaliation, kidnappings, gang activity, confrontation between members [of the police force] and former members of the disbanded Haitian armed forces, vigilante justice, and general criminal acts continue to be reported.” "The availability of weapons and the climate of impunity continue to fuel insecurity and human rights violations in Haiti, as measures to stop this are nowhere to be seen," commented Amnesty International. This is unlikely to change unless MINUSTAH receives the additional troops it needs to stabilize the whole country.

Even though MINUSTAH is under-manned, there has been some progress. Despite allegations of persecution by the political party of ousted president Aristide, the transitional government is going forward with plans to hold nationwide elections in 2005. MINUSTAH has just begun the process of disarming and demobilizing the many armed groups in Haiti, and it is helping the government train thousands of new police officers. Unfortunately, progress in all of these areas has been hampered by poor economic and social conditions that are the legacy of fifty years of violence and widespread poverty.

Most recently, parts of Haiti were devastated by hurricane Jeanne. Hundreds of people died, thousands have been reported missing, and hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless and without access to basic services, like electricity or clean water. Initial aid efforts have been slow because many of Haiti’s roads have been made impassable by flooding and mudslides.

Last updated September 22, 2004

Other Links:

Secretary General's August 2004 Report (PDF) on the work of MINUSTAH in Haiti.

Website of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)