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EspañolUNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI
(Redirected from MINUSTAH)
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.[1]
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.[2] In January, 2006, two Jordanian peacekeepers were killed in Cite Soleil.[3] In October of 2006 a group of heavily armed Haitian police were able to enter Cite 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 Haitian police's ability to penetrate the area even for such a short time was seen as a sign of progress.[4] The situation of continuing violence is similar in Port-au-Prince. Ex-soldiers, supporters of the ex-president, occupied the home of ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide against the wishes of the Haitian government.[5] Before Christmas in 2006 the UN force announced that it would take a tougher stance stance against gang members in Port-au-Prince, but since then the atmosphere there has not improved and the armed roadblocks and barbed wire barricades have not been moved. After 4 people were killed and another 6 injured in a UN operation exchange of fire with criminals in Cite Soleil in late January 2007, the United States announced that it would contribute $20 million to create jobs in Cite Soleil.[6][7]
In early February 2007, 700 UN troops flooded Cite Soleil resulting in a major gun battle. Although the troop make regular forcible entries into the area, a spokesperson said this one was the largest attempted so far by the UN troops.[8]
On July 28, 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.[9]
On August 2, 2007 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon arrived in Haiti to assess the role of the UN forces, announcing that he would visit Cite 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. The Haitian president Rene Preval 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.”[10] During his visit he announced an extension of the mandate of the UN forces in Haiti.[10]
Survivors at times blame the UN peace keepers for deaths of relatives.[12]
:''See also: 2004 Haitian coup d'état''
According to its mandate from the UN 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.[13] 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 overthrow of the Aristide government 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.[14] In 2004, UN peacekeepers stormed Cité Soleil in an attempt to gain control of the area and end the anarchy.[15]
In the recent past, independent human rights organizations have accused MINUSTAH and the Haitian National Police (HNP) of collaborating in numerous atrocities against civilians.[16][17][18] The UN, after repeatedly denying having taken the lives of any civilians, later admitted that civilians may have been killed, but argued that this was not intentional, and that it occurred as a by-product of their crackdown on what they call "gangs". They also said that the UN and MINUSTAH deeply regretted any loss of life during the operation.[19][20]
In early 2005, MINUSTAH force commander Lieutenant-General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira testified at a congressional commission in Brazil that "we are under extreme pressure from the international community to use violence,” citing Canada, France, and the United States.[21] 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.[22] His interim replacement, Chilean 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. [1] 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.[23]
On 14 February, 2006, in UN Security Council Resolution 1658, the United Nations Security Council extended MINUSTAH's mandate until 15 August 2006.[24]
MINUSTAH It is also a precedent as the first mission in the region to be led by Brazil, and almost entirely composed of, Latin American forces, particularly from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.[25]
Main articles: 2005 July 6 United Nations assault on Cité Soleil, Haiti
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, Jean-Bertrand 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 Wilme a "gangster." Other sources, such as the pro-Aristide Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network call Wilme a community leader and a martyr.[26]
The incident became a focal point for groups who oppose the MINUSTAH occupation of Haiti and who support the return of President Aristide.[2] MINUSTAH has also been accused by opponents of standing by and allowing the Haitian National Police to commit atrocities and massacres against Lavalas supporters and Haitian citizens opposed to the current occupation.
On 6 January 2006, U.N. mission head Juan Gabriel Valdes announced that MINUSTAH forces would launch another raid on Cité Soleil. Dismissing fears by human rights groups that more civilians will be killed, Valdes 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."[28]
★ List of UN peacekeeping missions
★ List of countries where United Nations peacekeepers are currently deployed
★ UN assault on Cité Soleil
1. Haiti - MINUSTAH - Facts and Figures
2. Hoping for change in Haiti’s Cité-Soleil
3. Two UN soldiers killed in Haiti
4. Haiti police visit gang stronghold
5. Ex-soldiers occupy Aristide home
6. HAITI: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege
7. US aid for Cite Soleil
8. UN troops flood into Haiti slum
9. UN concerned at Haiti lynchings
10. UN chief visits Haiti
11. UN chief visits Haiti
12. Haiti's children die in UN crossfire
13. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17082&Cr=Haiti&Cr1
14. Haiti - MINUSTAH - Mandate
15. UN peacekeepers storm Haiti slum
16. Haiti: Human Rights Investigation November 11 - 21, 2004
17. Haiti: Amnesty International calls on the transitional government to set up an independent commission of enquiry into summary executions attributed to members of the Haitian National Police
18. Document currently not found
19. UN admits civilians may have died in Haiti peacekeeping raid
20. MINUSTAH Statement Relating to the Operation Conducted on 05 July 2005 at Cite Soleil
21. Canada plays big role in propping up Haiti regime
22. Haiti UN mission chief found dead
23. New peacekeeping head for Haiti
24. Security Council calls on Haitians to refrain from violence
25. The Changing Role of the Military in Latin America
26. Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
27. Hoping for change in Haiti’s Cité-Soleil
28. Half-Hour for Haiti: Stop “Collateral Damage” in Cite Soleil
★ 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 July 6, 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
★ 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
Brazilian Army 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.[1]
| Contents |
| Current status |
| Background |
| 6 July 2005 Incident |
| See also |
| Notes |
| References |
| External links |
Current status
Chilean Mowag Piranha6X6 in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Haiti.
Brazilian 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.[2] In January, 2006, two Jordanian peacekeepers were killed in Cite Soleil.[3] In October of 2006 a group of heavily armed Haitian police were able to enter Cite 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 Haitian police's ability to penetrate the area even for such a short time was seen as a sign of progress.[4] The situation of continuing violence is similar in Port-au-Prince. Ex-soldiers, supporters of the ex-president, occupied the home of ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide against the wishes of the Haitian government.[5] Before Christmas in 2006 the UN force announced that it would take a tougher stance stance against gang members in Port-au-Prince, but since then the atmosphere there has not improved and the armed roadblocks and barbed wire barricades have not been moved. After 4 people were killed and another 6 injured in a UN operation exchange of fire with criminals in Cite Soleil in late January 2007, the United States announced that it would contribute $20 million to create jobs in Cite Soleil.[6][7]
In early February 2007, 700 UN troops flooded Cite Soleil resulting in a major gun battle. Although the troop make regular forcible entries into the area, a spokesperson said this one was the largest attempted so far by the UN troops.[8]
On July 28, 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.[9]
On August 2, 2007 the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon arrived in Haiti to assess the role of the UN forces, announcing that he would visit Cite 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. The Haitian president Rene Preval 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.”[10] During his visit he announced an extension of the mandate of the UN forces in Haiti.[10]
Survivors at times blame the UN peace keepers for deaths of relatives.[12]
Background
:''See also: 2004 Haitian coup d'état''
According to its mandate from the UN 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.[13] 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 overthrow of the Aristide government 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.[14] In 2004, UN peacekeepers stormed Cité Soleil in an attempt to gain control of the area and end the anarchy.[15]
U.S. Marines patrol the streets of Port-au-Prince in March, 2004.
In the recent past, independent human rights organizations have accused MINUSTAH and the Haitian National Police (HNP) of collaborating in numerous atrocities against civilians.[16][17][18] The UN, after repeatedly denying having taken the lives of any civilians, later admitted that civilians may have been killed, but argued that this was not intentional, and that it occurred as a by-product of their crackdown on what they call "gangs". They also said that the UN and MINUSTAH deeply regretted any loss of life during the operation.[19][20]
In early 2005, MINUSTAH force commander Lieutenant-General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira testified at a congressional commission in Brazil that "we are under extreme pressure from the international community to use violence,” citing Canada, France, and the United States.[21] 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.[22] His interim replacement, Chilean 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. [1] 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.[23]
On 14 February, 2006, in UN Security Council Resolution 1658, the United Nations Security Council extended MINUSTAH's mandate until 15 August 2006.[24]
MINUSTAH It is also a precedent as the first mission in the region to be led by Brazil, and almost entirely composed of, Latin American forces, particularly from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.[25]
6 July 2005 Incident
Main articles: 2005 July 6 United Nations assault on Cité Soleil, Haiti
Chilean 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, Jean-Bertrand 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 Wilme a "gangster." Other sources, such as the pro-Aristide Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network call Wilme a community leader and a martyr.[26]
The incident became a focal point for groups who oppose the MINUSTAH occupation of Haiti and who support the return of President Aristide.[2] MINUSTAH has also been accused by opponents of standing by and allowing the Haitian National Police to commit atrocities and massacres against Lavalas supporters and Haitian citizens opposed to the current occupation.
On 6 January 2006, U.N. mission head Juan Gabriel Valdes announced that MINUSTAH forces would launch another raid on Cité Soleil. Dismissing fears by human rights groups that more civilians will be killed, Valdes 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."[28]
See also
★ List of UN peacekeeping missions
★ List of countries where United Nations peacekeepers are currently deployed
★ UN assault on Cité Soleil
Notes
1. Haiti - MINUSTAH - Facts and Figures
2. Hoping for change in Haiti’s Cité-Soleil
3. Two UN soldiers killed in Haiti
4. Haiti police visit gang stronghold
5. Ex-soldiers occupy Aristide home
6. HAITI: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege
7. US aid for Cite Soleil
8. UN troops flood into Haiti slum
9. UN concerned at Haiti lynchings
10. UN chief visits Haiti
11. UN chief visits Haiti
12. Haiti's children die in UN crossfire
13. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17082&Cr=Haiti&Cr1
14. Haiti - MINUSTAH - Mandate
15. UN peacekeepers storm Haiti slum
16. Haiti: Human Rights Investigation November 11 - 21, 2004
17. Haiti: Amnesty International calls on the transitional government to set up an independent commission of enquiry into summary executions attributed to members of the Haitian National Police
18. Document currently not found
19. UN admits civilians may have died in Haiti peacekeeping raid
20. MINUSTAH Statement Relating to the Operation Conducted on 05 July 2005 at Cite Soleil
21. Canada plays big role in propping up Haiti regime
22. Haiti UN mission chief found dead
23. New peacekeeping head for Haiti
24. Security Council calls on Haitians to refrain from violence
25. The Changing Role of the Military in Latin America
26. Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
27. Hoping for change in Haiti’s Cité-Soleil
28. Half-Hour for Haiti: Stop “Collateral Damage” in Cite Soleil
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 July 6, 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
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