On May 13, William O’Neill, the UN expert on human rights and Haiti, at the invitation of the UNI-ETC, the Conflict-Peace-Democracy Cluster, the Centre for Inter-American Studies and Empowerment for Peace, talked to a room full of interested listeners about the devastating situation in Haiti as well as about ongoing efforts by the international community to restore peace and security in the country.
After the almost complete breakdown of Haitian authorities, the Caribbean country is rapidly moving towards becoming a failed state. Extreme poverty and a lack of future prospects drive people, including children, into the arms of gangs that are in control and spread deadly violence around Port-au-Prince. This all leads to displacement, destruction, and trauma. So far efforts to restore security in Haiti have been unsuccessful. The country with a population of around twelve million people desperately needs help from the international community, as the police force of only nine thousand police officers struggle to deal with gang violence.
All is not lost however, because the UN Security Council authorised a Multinational Security Support Mission headed by Kenya to send additional police from different countries to Haiti. O’Neill believes that this mission could successfully disband the gangs, as they lack an ideology to fight. After that, security in the country shall be strengthened by to re-integrating low-level members of the gangs (mainly child soldiers) into society, having presidential elections, and reinforcing the Haitian authorities. Overall, while the situation in Haiti is “apocalyptic” according to O’Neill, there is hope that – with the help of the international community – peace can be restored.