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troops before boarding for MINUSTAH peacekeeping mission.
The
United Nations Stabilization Mission In Haiti (), also known as
MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French translation, is a
United Nations peacekeeping mission in
Haiti that has been in operation since 2004, led by the
Brazilian Army.{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/minustah/facts.html|title=Haiti - MINUSTAH - Facts and Figures|publisher=un.org|accessdate=2007-08-14-->
Current status
6X6 in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Haiti.ian MINUSTAH soldier with a Haitian girl.Although the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) has been in Haiti since 2004, it continues to struggle for control over the armed gangs. It maintains an armed checkpoint at the entrance to the shanty town of
Cité Soleil and the road is blocked with armed vehicles.{{cite web]ian peacekeepers were killed in Cité Soleil.{{cite web|year=2006|month=January 18|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622772.stm|title=Two UN soldiers killed in Haiti|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2007-08-16--> In October 2006 a heavily armed group of the Haitian National Police were able to enter Cité Soleil for the first time in three years and were able to remain one hour as armored UN troops patrolled the area. Since this is where the armed gangs take their kidnap victims, the police's ability to penetrate the area even for such a short time was seen as a sign of progress.{{cite web]. Ex-soldiers, supporters of the ex-president, occupied the home of ex-president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide against the wishes of the Haitian government.{{cite web] 2007, Edmond Mulet, the UN Special Representative in Haiti, warned of a sharp increase in lynchings and other mob attacks in Haiti. He said MINUSTAH, which now has 9,000 troops there, will launch a campaign to remind people lynchings are a crime.{{cite web] 2007,
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon arrived in Haiti to assess the role of the UN forces, announcing that he would visit Cité Soleil during his visit. He said that it was Haiti's largest slum and as such was the most important target for U.N. peace keepers in gaining control over the armed gangs. President
René Préval has expressed ambivalent feelings about the UN security presence, stating “if the Haitian people were asked if they wanted the UN forces to leave they would say yes.”{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2007/08/070802_haitun.shtml|title=UN chief visits Haiti|publisher=BBC Caribbean|accessdate=2007-08-02--> During his visit he announced an extension of the mandate of the UN forces in Haiti.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2007/08/070802_haitun.shtml|title=UN chief visits Haiti|publisher=BBC Caribbean|accessdate=2007-08-15-->
Survivors frequently blame the UN peace keepers for deaths of relatives.{{cite web|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2047451,00.html|title=Haiti's children die in UN crossfire|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|accessdate=2007-08-02-->
United Nations reports and resolutions
On 23 February 2004 the United Nations Security Council was convened at the request of CARICOM for the first time in four years to address the deteriorating situation in Haiti.
On
29 February 2004 the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution "taking note of the resignation of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti and the swearing-in of President
Boniface Alexandre as the acting President of Haiti in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti" and authorized the immediate deployment of a Multinational Interim Force.
On 30 April
2004 MINUSTAH was established and given its mandate with a military component of up to 6,700 troops.
In July the General Assembly authorized the financing of the mission with to $200million which followed a donors' conference in Washington DC.
The first progress report from MINUSTAH was released at the end of August.
In September the interim president of Haiti, Boniface Alexandre, spoke to the
United Nations General Assembly in support of MINUSTAH.
In November there was a second report,{{UN document ] 2004--> and the Security Council mandate for MINUSTAH.
The mandate has most recently been extended by the Security Council until October 2008.
Background
See also: 2004 Haitian coup d'état
According to its mandate from the UN
United Nations Security Council, MINUSTAH is required to concentrate the use of its resources, including civilian police, towards increasing security and protection during the electoral period and to assist with the restoration and maintenance of the rule of law, public safety and public order in Haiti.{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17082&Cr=Haiti&Cr1|title=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17082&Cr=Haiti&Cr1|publisher=un.org|accessdate=2007-08-14--> Critics argue that the mission's main purpose is to suppress popular opposition to the interim government and to give an impression of legitimacy to the imperialist agenda of France,
Canada, and the
U.S., the three countries responsible for orchestrating the
2004 Haiti rebellion in 2004. MINUSTAH was established by UN Security Council Resolution 1542 on 30 April
2004 because the Security Council deemed the situation in Haiti to be a threat to international peace and security in the region.{{cite web] in an attempt to gain control of the area and end the anarchy.{{cite web|year=2004|month=December 15|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4096841.stm|title=UN peacekeepers storm Haiti slum|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2007-08-16-->In the recent past, independent human rights organizations have accused MINUSTAH and the
Haitian National Police (HNP) of collaborating in numerous atrocities against civilians.{{cite web] that "we are under extreme pressure from the international community to use violence,” citing Canada, France, and the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=6995§ionID=55|title=Canada plays big role in propping up Haiti regime|publisher=ZNet|accessdate=2007-08-15--> Later in the year, he resigned, and on
1 September 2005, was replaced by General
Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar as force commander of MINUSTAH. On
7 January 2006, Bacellar was found dead in his hotel room.{{cite web]an General Eduardo Aldunate Hermann has been criticized for having been trained at the School of the Americas, and for having served in the brutal forces of Augusto Pinochet. In October 2005, the lawyer of the family of Carmelo Soria, a Spanish diplomat assassinated in 1976, presented a request before the Chilean justice demanding that the General Eduardo Aldunate Herman be heard in the Soria case. According to former
DINA agent Carlos Labarca Sanhueza's judicial testimony, General Herman was part of the
Brigada Mulchén special DINA unit involved in Soria's assassination Familia de Carmelo Soria pidió que se interrogue a militar a cargo de tropas en Haití,
Radio Cooperativa, 11 October 2005 . According to Carmelo Soria's daughter, General Herman was also involved in the assassination of DINA biochemist
Eugenio Berrios, found dead in 1995 .
On 17 January
2006, it was announced that Brazilian General Jose Elito Carvalho de Siqueira would be the permanent replacement for Bacellar as the head of the United Nations' Haiti force.{{cite web] 2006, in
Security Council Resolution 1658, the United Nations Security Council extended MINUSTAH's mandate until 15 August 2006.{{cite web], and almost entirely composed of,
Latin American forces, particularly from
Brazil,
Argentina,
Chile and
Uruguay.{{cite web|url=http://www.focal.ca/pdf/Latam_military.pdf|title=The Changing Role of the Military in Latin America|publisher=Focal|accessdate=2007-08-15-->
6 July 2005 Incident
helicopter during the 2006 elections (Photo: Patrick André Perron)On
6 July 2005, MINUSTAH carried out a raid in the Cité Soleil section of
Port-au-Prince. MINUSTAH spokespeople claimed that the raid targeted a base of illegally armed rebels led by
Dread Wilme. Reports from pro-Lavalas sources, as well as journalists such as Kevin Pina, contend that the raid targeted civilians and was an attempt to destroy the popular support for
Haiti's exiled former leader, Aristide, before scheduled upcoming elections.
Estimates on the number of fatalities range from five to as high as 80, with the higher numbers being claimed by those reporting that the raid targeted civilians. All sources agree that no MINUSTAH personnel were killed. All sources also agree that
Dread Wilme (birthname "Emmanuel Wilmer") was killed in the raid. MINUSTAH spokespeople called Dread Wilme a "gangster." Other sources, such as the pro-
Aristide Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network call
Dread Wilme a community leader and a
martyr.{{cite web] and who support the return of President
Aristide.{{cite web] 2006, U.N. mission head Juan Gabriel Valdés announced that MINUSTAH forces would launch another raid on Cité Soleil. Dismissing fears by human rights groups that more civilians will be killed, Valdés said, "We are going to intervene in the coming days. I think there'll be collateral damage but we have to impose our force, there is no other way."{{cite web|url=http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_halfhourforhaiti_1-10-06.htm|title=Half-Hour for Haiti: Stop “Collateral Damage” in Cite Soleil|publisher=Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti|accessdate=2007-08-15-->
See also
Notes
References
- From Reuters Alertnet
- HaitiAction.net, a pro-Aristide site
- Canada out of Haiti, an anti-occupation site
- The Doctors Without Borders press release indicating that civilians have been targets of the violence in Haiti]
- A digest of Haitian news reports for 6 July [2005
- Another digest of Haitian news reports, including coverage of the protests after the raid]
- A report from the US Labor and Human Rights delegation to [Haiti
- The Power Hour, a pro-Lavalas site
External links
- MINUSTAH website
- Official Website (French language)
- United Nations' Mission Website
- U.S. State Department - Bureau of International Affairs' Fact Sheet
- Nepal Police - Documentation of Nepal's contribution to MINUSTAH
- Argentine Military - Documentation of Argentine Army's contribution to MINUSTAH
- Argentine Military - Documentation of Argentine Air Force's contribution to MINUSTAH
- Argentine Military - Documentation of Argentine Navy's contribution to MINUSTAH
- Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Documentation of Japan's contribution to MINUSTAH
- Ministry of Defence - Sri Lanka's contribution to MINUSTAH
- Photo Minustah & Haiti
- Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti