Military forces will intervene in Haiti, with UN approval

The United Nations Security Council approved an armed intervention in Haiti despite the rejection of popular organizations, which denounced the Haitian government for maintaining coexistence with the gangs that generate chaos, to justify the invasion.

In an open letter issued by the countries of the African Union (AU), at the beginning of August, it was highlighted regarding the intentions of armed intervention in Haiti that “African countries should not be used as instruments for the former colonial powers, now transformed into imperialist powers, which are supposedly involved in a criminal project to destabilize Haiti and systematically sabotage its sovereignty.”

In that context, the US-UN occupation was specifically mentioned as a truly dangerous phase in this process of military intervention by various nations.

In an article published by the Jean Jaques Dessalines Internationalist Brigade, it was noted that “the increase in territorial control by militia groups, especially in the Port-au-Prince region, has been causing a wave of violence in these territories. Hundreds of houses were burned and many families sought refuge in squares or wherever possible. “There is no state support for these families, nor is there any state action to stop the advance of gangs in the metropolitan area.”

At the end of March 2023, Luz Eneida Mejía, representing a commission of more than 30 political organizations that at the Haitian embassy in the Dominican Republic delivered a statement rejecting the intervention, expressed: “We consider it appropriate to reaffirm on this day our solidarity with the brother Haitian people, who face the consequences of bad governments and the interventionist conspiracy of the imperialist powers.”

The UN justifies these actions based on the supposed need to address rampant gang violence, which has had a significant impact on the lives of Haitian citizens.

UN Security Council approves military mission in Haiti

The 15-member United Nations Security Council voted to authorize a security mission aimed at protecting critical infrastructure such as airports, ports, schools, hospitals and key traffic intersections. This mission will also carry out «targeted operations» in collaboration with the Haitian National Police.

The Kenyan government has announced its desire to deploy at least 1,000 security personnel as part of the multinational mission in Haiti, with expectations that other nations will contribute resources of similar magnitude. The corresponding United Nations resolution was approved with 13 votes in favor, while Russia and China abstained.

The initiative to deploy a multinational force in Haiti was proposed by António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, in response to the breakdown of order and law in the country.

In that sense, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric explained that the proposal arises after gang control over ports and fuel depots.

«We are asking Member States to send their own citizens into a very difficult and challenging environment, with a real risk of life and death. We understand that this could take a long time and has political and logistical implications,” Dujarric said.

Previous UN missions exacerbated problems in Haiti

From October 2022 to June, around 3,000 people lost their lives in Haiti, according to United Nations reports, coinciding with the takeover of large areas of the country by gangs, especially in Port-au-Prince, the capital. Many neighborhoods have been evacuated due to the wave of widespread murders, kidnappings and extortion.

The UN Security Council decision comes after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry called for such a force to address growing violence in the country.

However, Sandra Kanety, a researcher at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), analyzing the last 20 years, argued that the five UN missions in Haiti only worsened the situation in all countries. levels of the Caribbean country.

Likewise, it has been documented that violence in Haiti has been exacerbated as a result of the introduction of weapons and drugs by peacekeeping troops.

“Peace operations have led to the introduction of previously non-existent weapons and drugs, as well as the occurrence of rape and other humanitarian crises,” Kanety explained.

In addition, rapes of women, births of children due to rape by blue helmets and the appearance of cholera on the island are reported, according to the research carried out by British professors, Sabine Lee and Susan Bartels: “They put a few coins in your hands to drop a baby on you”, 265 stories of Haitian children abandoned by UN parents.

Haiti marked by prolonged UN intervention

In this sense, Haiti, during the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah), was the scene of the longest commission in the history of these mechanisms, from its beginning on June 1, 2004 until its conclusion in October 2017.

During this extensive mission, there are records that the country experienced interventions by governments, international organizations, and foreign civil organizations, which generated continuous political and economic crises.

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Kanety highlighted that there is an intervention disguised as humanitarian aid, which in reality is still an intervention, with a logic of making people believe that African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries need to be stabilized and pacified through the deployment of military troops.

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In 2022, through protests, different sectors of the Haitian population also expressed their rejection of possible foreign intervention and requested the resignation of the prime minister of the Caribbean nation.