top of page

Peacebuilding and Social Justice / Winter 2023

 

Seminar Facilitation 

​

A peacebuilding proposal for the Haiti Crisis

     About this presentation 

  • Context, numbers and location  

  • Current situation                                                   

  • Haiti's History Summary                           

  • Recent events                                           

  • Theoretical Framework                             

  • A Peacebuilding Framework                     

    • Security Framework                            

    • Political and Economic Restructuring  

    • Reconciliation Mechanism                   

 Context, the country in numbers and location 

Numbers Haiti.png
—Pngtree—haiti flag_6405062.png

Area 27755 sq. km.

Population: 11,334,637

3.434.270 in Haiti people live with less than US $ 2,15 per day (World Bank)

Where is Haiti?

mundo.jpg
Karibik_Haiti_Position.png

By © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=180378

     Current situation      

  • Haiti's current situation is a "living nightmare"
  • The state of Haiti has failed. It is no longer able to provide security to its own population. Violent and armed gangs have taken over many parts of the country, most of them in the capital city, Port-au-Prince. 
  • Women have been specially targeted as preys for rape. Their most basic human rights have been violated.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
                               BASIC ISSUES TO RESEARCH ABOUT
​
  • Should external powers intervene?
  • Should the UN send peacekeepers on the ground?
  • If that was the case,
    • How the peacekeeping intervention should be like? 
    • How should it be designed?

    • How should it be implemented?

  • What kind of peacebuilding projects or initiatives could be proposed?

1024px-Using_mobile_phones_in_Haiti_after_the_earthquake_(7561270846).jpg

History: a colonial past, an huge debt,
tiranny,coruption and poverty  

Dessalines.jpg
Variety of Coins
France Map

- Jean-Jacques Dessalines
- Haitian revolution in 1804
- Le genocide des subordonnés

20th century 

​

      (masacre del perejil - a genocide?)

  • Duvalier's tiranny and dinasty. Corruption.


 

Father_and_son_Duvalier.jpg

  • 21st century 

  • Jean Bertrand Aristide 

    • Achievements in education and health care

    • Request for compensation for slavery and past debt.

​​

  • 2010 Earthquake

    • 200.000 people dead​

    • 1 1/2 million homeless

    • cholera outbreak

  • From 2004 to 2017 the MINUSTAH was present in the country / poor results in terms of stable peace and accusations os abuses. 

Jean-Bertrand_Aristide_(cropped).jpg
Henry.jpg

​

  • The last president, Jovenal Moïse, was assassinated

      on July 7th, 2021.

​

  • A second earthquake hit on 14 08 2021

​

​

  • The current prime minister, Ariel Henry, has been calling for an international intervention to re-establish some kind of control and order.

​

  • So far, the United States and Canada have not decided to militarily intervene. Both are reluctant to do so based on hard experiences from the past. The U.N. Security Council has not authorized an intervention either.

​

​​​

 

​

​​

​

​

​

Recent events (2021-2022)

Kelly_Craft_poses_a_photo_with_Haitian_President_Moise_(cropped).jpg

Theoretical Framework

Linked concepts 

  • Failure of the state: "inability of a state to bring positive political goods to its inhabitants” (Akpinarli 2010, 5).

​

  • Responsibility to protect: “an international norm that seeks to ensure that the international community never again fails to halt the mass atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect 2023, para. 2). 

​​​​

       What consequences do these concepts imply in practical terms?

Peacekeeping 

- Peacebuilding
- Political & Economic Restructuring
- Reconciliation Mechanism

  • Assumption:

A peacekeeping force should be deployed, not to replace Haitian police but to support it. It should be a deffensive operation rather than a "robust" operation (to reduce the risks of abuses / Nathan Derejko).

​

                          CANADA'S CURRENT APPROACH TO HAITI 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​

  • Human security: "An approach to assist Member States in identifying and addressing widespread and cross-cutting challenges to the survival, livelihood and dignity of their people.” (General Assembly resolution 66/290).

​

  • The issue of Human security in Haiti is not likely to be addressed without a peacekeeping operation first.



    ​

​

Questions:

  • How can it be possible to "strengthen the protection and empowerment of all people" (from the Human Security concept)?

  • What kind of peacebuilding efforts could be proposed to give back some stability to the country?

  • How to face the challenge of providing some human security to the people of Haiti?

Political and Economic Restructuring 

- Ariel Henry, the current prime minister has established a transition council to make sure elections are held. However, an electoral process is not likely to be successful given the current unsafe situation.
​
- The Organization of American States (OAS) has proposed to take these steps towards a political restructuring:
​
  • The crisis has to be solved by Haitians themselves but with support of the international community. The first step should be a dialogue process among political organizations aimed at building organizational and institutional capacities.
  • A trustworthy and transparent electoral process.
  • Strengthening public institutions in the country.
​
       This pledge (from OAS):
​
  • “Renewed support for security and humanitarian assistance, inclusive, transparent, free, fair and credible elections, and democratic transition in the Republic of Haiti” , is unlikely to be carried out without the intervention of teams to supervise elections, but they might also require protection from some kind of peacekeeping force, at least to protect staff and electors.
​​
  • QUESTIONS: ​
    • ​Do you agree with the OAS proposal for political restructuring in Haiti? Sustain your answer. 
    • Sending peacekeepers to the current Haitian government might be seen by many as endorsing a de facto leader. However, this regime is too weak to carry out elections without help, what could be a possible exit to this stagnation?
​
​

Reconciliation Mechanism

- Social rehabilitation and reconciliation are considered one of the major components of reconstructing postconflict societies (Jeong 2005,155). 

- Reconcialiation might be carried out on different levels and by a variety of means such as workshops, truth commissions, trials and punishments for the aggressors (Jeong 2005,156). 

QUESTIONS: 

- In Haiti, most part of violence come from gangs, not from police or the army. How could it be possible to start a disarmament process? 

- How to ensure perpetrators are bought to justice?

- What kind of mechanisms could be proposed to help victims heal from their wounds?

- What should be the process for reintegrating former gang members to society?
 
bottom of page