Global Policy Forum

By Hannah Hennessy

For almost six months, the commander of the United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti has been woefully short of staff.

With just two-thirds of the full contingent of 6,700 troops, Brazilian Gen Augusto Heleno Pereira has faced criticism that the UN mission has done little to combat spiralling levels of violence in the western hemisphere's poorest country. Gen Pereira hopes the arrival of almost 2,000 troops by the end of December will allow the peacekeepers to stamp down on armed gangs, who have been terrorising the poorest neighbourhoods, and improve the security situation across Haiti.

Since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced from power in February, hundreds of people have been killed on the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Much of the violence has been caused by gang members loyal to the ousted president and members of the army that Mr Aristide disbanded in the mid-1990s. The arrival of peacekeepers from countries including Nepal, the Philippines and Jordan, will mean the UN mission is just 600 troops short of its full quota. As well as these new troops, Gen Pereira said that by 17 December, the 1,200-strong contingent from Brazil, who took control of the mission in June, will have been replaced by fresh troops.

'More active'

"I think this arrival of troops will completely change the security environment in Port-au-Prince and throughout the country," he told the BBC during an interview at the UN headquarters in the Haitian capital. "I think we will be more active, we will start to pick up the weapons from the gangs and will begin to obtain good, good results." Gen Pereira hopes this expanded presence will allow the peacekeepers to combat criticisms that they have been too reactive and not active enough, merely keeping the lid on a potentially even bigger bloodbath.

He accused the local media of fomenting panic, saying this empowered the armed gangs and weakened the legitimate security forces. "Often I hear on the radio that there has been a criminal situation somewhere in the city centre. So, I go there personally, I tour the whole city, and don't see anything that can justify the expression 'chaos' to describe Port-au-Prince. The value of rumour is very high in Haiti," he said.

Gen Pereira said the peacekeeping mission needed to be accompanied by a massive humanitarian effort to help improve living standards, create jobs and educate the vast numbers of illiterate people. He hopes this will allow the UN to gain access to information about the criminals who often take advantage of the slums' cramped conditions where thousands of people live without electricity.

Long-term challenges

A UN report published last week said 55% of Haiti's almost eight million people live on less than a dollar a day; nearly half of the population is malnourished; and 10% of the country will be infected by HIV by 2015. Meanwhile, rampant deforestation increased the flood damage wrought by tropical storms in September, which killed thousands and further battered an economy that has not grown for years. The international community has already pledged $1.3bn to Haiti, but the UN and the interim government have been slow to spend any of that money.

Gen Pereira said it was particularly important for the UN, the interim government, foreign and Haitian civilian police and local authorities to work together to ensure free and fair elections as planned in December 2005. "We want to have a very safe environment, so the elections can reflect a democratic situation, a free transparent situation, so everyone can vote without pressure," he said. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is preparing to vote on a resolution to extend the UN mission in Haiti by another 18 months, until end of May 2006.

Gen Pereira said whatever it decided, he was committed to a long-term international presence to help the Caribbean nation move forward. "A short-term commitment is not going to change the situation. The problems are political, social, military, economic. I have no doubt this is a long-term job and the international community is the only one that can manage that," he said.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.