UN Peacekeepers: Helping to Bring Haiti Out of Poverty and Isolation

On October 13th, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for another year. Noting improvements made toward the stabilization of the country over recent months, the Council recognized a fragile security situation that “continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region.” Yes, UN peacekeeping has helped to make real gains in security in Haiti, but stability there remains threatened by gang violence, drug trafficking, and civil unrest.

The renewal of the mandate reminds us of the numerous challenges for UN peacekeepers in Haiti. For one, as Ambassador Susan Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN, reminded the Council in September, “The HNP (Haitian National Police) still lacks the capacity, training, and equipment to respond independently to the full range of threats that Haiti now confronts.” Indeed the creation of a robust, professional Haitian police force has not been an easy task for MINUSTAH. Qualified civilian leadership has been hard to come by and corruption within the ranks has only complicated the effort.

MINUSTAH police forces are working tirelessly to train and equip 14,000 new Haitian officers by 2012, but one can only wonder whether the deck is stacked against the newly minted Haitian police force. According to the latest figures on MINUSTAH’s website, the UN mission currently has 9,123 military and police working alongside 9,500 UN-trained HNP officers to stabilize a country with a population of nearly 10 million. Contrast that with the number of NYPD officers – nearly 40,000 – working to serve a New York City population of 8.5 million. The comparison is imperfect, but this enormous discrepancy must not be overlooked by the international community when measuring the success and failure of such a force.

Moreover, while most Haitians welcome the idea of a fully trained professional police force, their experience with state power has not always been kind. As a result of this mistrust and other incidents involving MINUSTAH, relations between the UN force and the Haitian people have not always been smooth. Over the last year, MINUSTAH has worked to improve public perception and trust in its force by interacting with the local population through community outreach. The Security Council views this as a top priority, calling for  MINUSTAH to continue its “public outreach strategy” in the resolution passed October 13th extending the mandate one more year.

MINUSTAH must continue to convince the Haitian public that its presence is vital to maintaining the kind of stable environment needed to attract foreign investment (i.e. jobs) to the country. Thankfully, the appointment of former President Bill Clinton as UN special envoy to Haiti shows the UN’s commitment to stability and economic growth. For without a stable investment environment, development options will be limited, thus providing minimal opportunity for Haitians to move their country forward.