COUNTDOWN: Haiti Stands ‘At the Crossroads’ ~ U.N. Human Rights Chief
The United Nation’s human rights chief Michelle Bachelet says Haiti now stands at the crossroads between peacekeeping and development as the U.N.’s peacekeeping presence winds down.
Bachelet, in an address to the Security Council in New York last month, urged all concerned parties to continue building on progress made or “risk losing it” altogether.
While encouraged by civil society’s engagement in promoting and protecting human rights, along with the victims of human rights violations, Bachelet acknowledged that “it has not been able to fully assume monitoring and advocacy role.” Bachelet noted that some civil society organizations in Haiti continue to be targeted by acts of intimidation, saying that it “must stop.”
She urged everyone with a stake in the French-speaking Caribbean nation’s future to “work together to strengthen the human rights protection system.”
ORDER
Calling Haiti’s return to constitutional order, following presidential, legislative and local elections in 2017, “a significant achievement,” Bachelet said that while standing “at the crossroads” between peacekeeping and development, “we must recognize the progress accomplished” and “also continue building on it, or risk losing it.”
The U.N. high commissioner urged the U.N. Security Council to provide Haitians with “the necessary support to strengthen institutions, fight against impunity and promote and protect human rights as a foundation to stability and development.”
Bachelet said that February’s protests – “the longest and most violent” in years, had “almost entirely paralyzed the country.” Despite significant improvements in the professionalism of the U.N.-supported National Police, incidents of serious human rights violations, including cases of summary executions, continue to be reported with limited accountability.
“Perpetrators are consequently emboldened and silenced victims may develop grievances,” Bachelet said.
WEAKNESS
She said the weakness of the judicial system also has a negative impact on the prisons system, stating that over 75 percent of inmates are estimated to be in a pre-trial detention — on average for 1,100 days — “well over the limit set by national law.”
Bachelet also informed the Security Council that, after the current Mission for Justice Support (MINUJUSTH) concludes, her office intends to pursue its work in the country and, eventually, with the support of the council and member states, provide “a stand-alone presence.
“We want to remain engaged and to support Haiti’s commitment to achieving democratic and economic development so that the rights of all people in Haiti are upheld,” she said.
