UN warns gangs consuming Haiti despite help for police
Wednesday, the UN’s special envoy to Haiti said that the training and resources that the international community is giving to Haiti’s national police force are not enough to fight gangs that are getting more and more violent.
Helen La Lime, who is in charge of the UN’s Integrated Office in Haiti, showed up unexpectedly at an Organization of American States meeting in Washington, D.C. She said it was time to look at new partnerships and called again for the deployment of a specialized foreign force.
She said, “We’re not getting the job done.” “We need to get to work putting this country back together.”
Powerful gangs have been moving into once-peaceful neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti. Experts say that they now control about 60% of the city. In order to take over more land, they have destroyed neighborhoods, raped adults and children, and kidnapped hundreds of people, from U.S. missionaries to a hot dog street vendor. The violence has gotten worse since President Jovenel Moise was killed in July 2021.
“The OAS needs to know right away that the security situation on the ground has reached its worst point and that armed gangs are now free to roam the country,” said Victor Geneus, Haiti’s minister of foreign affairs.
Geneus and Prime Minister Ariel Henry and other top Haitian officials have asked over and over again for international troops on the ground. This request, which was first made in October, has been ignored by the UN Security Council, which has instead imposed sanctions, as have the U.S. and Canada.
On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that the sanctions were aimed at “elite families in Haiti who are so responsible for not only funding gangs but also for destabilizing the political world and their economy in Haiti at a terrible cost for the Haitian people.”
He also said that Canada is still helping Haiti’s national police force and other institutions, even though outside help in the past hasn’t helped Haiti get long-term stability.
Trudeau said, “It’s clear that Haiti needs a new approach that puts the Haitian people in charge of building strong opportunities and a strong democracy for themselves.”
But Haiti’s top leaders don’t agree.
Geneus said at the OAS meeting, “Haiti does not have the resources to solve this crisis on its own.”
Even with help from other countries, Haiti’s National Police only has 9,000 officers on duty in a country with more than 11 million people, and officials say the department still doesn’t have enough money or people.
“Having weapons isn’t enough. “Strengthening the National Police and Army is not enough,” said Leon Charles, who is Haiti’s permanent representative to the OAS and was the country’s police chief.
Human rights activists say that gangs have killed at least 78 police officers. In some places, gangs have taken over police departments and burned down others.
The rise in violence has also forced tens of thousands of Haitians out of their homes and caused a mass exodus to the U.S. and other islands in the Caribbean, where more and more people are dying on rickety boats. In the meantime, officials in places like the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have gotten tough on migrants and complained about how hard they are making it for government services to work.
“Haiti’s security problems are a danger to the whole area,” Geneus said.
The Organization of American States (OAS) set up the meeting to figure out what kind of help is needed and where so that Haiti can finally hold its long-awaited general elections.
Before the OAS members went behind closed doors to talk more, La Lime said that Haiti needs a safer environment right away before elections can happen.
She said, “Nothing will change until the situation on the ground does.” “They won’t be able to make it without more help with security.”
On Wednesday, a group of UN officials went to Port-au-Prince to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Henry, look at “the scale and gravity of the humanitarian crisis,” and help with humanitarian operations. This is where the meeting took place.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Tareq Talahma said they needed US$700 million to help at least 3 million of the 5 million Haitians who need humanitarian aid.
So far, he said, the money that has been promised has not been enough. “That’s why we’re here,” he said.
“The people of Haiti have a lot of pride, and they are waiting for more than just help from charities. This community wants peace, safety, and protection. This is the most important thing and should be given the most attention. Talahma said.
