#2867: From CIP: Report of the UN Secretary-General on Haiti (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>

www.us.net/cip/un3.htm

UNITED NATIONS
Security Council
Distr. GENERAL S/2000/150 25 February 2000 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

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Report of the Secretary-General on the United
Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti
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I. INTRODUCTION

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council
resolution 1277 (1999) of 30 November 1999, by which the Council decided 
to continue the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti
(MIPONUH) in order to ensure a phased transition to an International
Civilian Support Mission in Haiti (MICAH) by 15 March 2000. In that
resolution the Council requested me to coordinate and expedite the
transition from MIPONUH and the International Civilian Mission in Haiti 
(MICIVIH) to MICAH and to report to it on the implementation of the
resolution by 1 March 2000. This report covers the activities of MIPONUH 
and developments in the mission area since my report of 18 November 1999 
(S/1999/1184).

2. As members of the Security Council will recall, the establishment of 
MICAH was approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 54/193 of 
17 December 1999 to consolidate the results achieved by MIPONUH and
MICIVIH and previous United Nations missions. The transition process to 
the new mission is being coordinated by my Representative in Haiti and 
Head of MIPONUH, Alfredo Lopes Cabral, on the basis of continuing
consultations with the Haitian authorities, the Executive Director of
MICIVIH, Colin Granderson, and with the group of Friends of the
Secretary-General for Haiti, namely Argentina, Canada, Chile, France,
the United States of America and Venezuela.

II. POLITICAL SITUATION AND ELECTIONS

3. During the reporting period, the security situation in Haiti was
characterized by frequent demonstrations and by incidents of violence
and robbery. At Jérémie, on 10 December, seven houses were destroyed by
arson, allegedly election-related. On 11 January, an agitated crowd
attacked with rocks the police station of Fort Liberté to demand the 
release of a murder suspect so that they could lynch him. The disorders 
escalated and a 14-year-old boy was killed. It was not possible to
ascertain the origin of the shooting. On 17 February the residence of a 
United Nations civilian police officer was robbed at gun point by six
individuals, and the officer was slightly injured.

4. The period from mid-November to early December 1999 was marked by the expulsion of more than 20,000 migrant workers of Haitian nationality or 
descent from the Dominican Republic. The situation stirred up public
sentiment and led to some calls for a boycott of Dominican products and 
the restoration of the Haitian armed forces. Negotiations between the
Haitian and Dominican Foreign Ministers led to the signature on 2
December 1999 of an accord providing, inter alia, for the humane
treatment of repatriates and requiring the Government of the Dominican 
Republic to give advance notification of any future expulsion plans to 
their Haitian counterparts.

5. Since my previous report, the political climate in Haiti has been
dominated by pre-electoral activities. Despite some election-related
disturbances, and organizational problems and delays, the Provisional
Electoral Council (CEP) has so far proceeded with the implementation of 
its electoral timetable. It is hoped that this process will culminate in 
the holding of legislative and local elections as scheduled on 19 March 
2000.

6. The process of registration of political candidates was initially
scheduled to last from 15 November to 10 December. As the process was
slow at the start, with no candidates for national office forthcoming
during the first two weeks of the registration campaign, CEP extended
the deadline by two days, which prompted a surge in the number of
registrations.

7. The majority of political parties and alliances, including Fanmi
Lavalas, Organisation du peuple en lutte (OPL), Pati Louvri Baryè (PLB),
Espace de concertation and Mouvement patriotique pour le sauvetage
national (MPSN), have confirmed that the registration of their
candidates was concluded on 12 December 1999. The political class and
civil society participated broadly in the registration process.
According to CEP, over 29,000 candidates belonging to a large number of 
parties, political groupings and independents, competing for more than 
5,000 national and local seats, have registered.

8. Fanmi Lavalas held its party congress from 14 to 16 December 1999 and 
used the occasion to present a new party platform spelled out in a white 
paper (livre blanc). On the opening day, the Fanmi Lavalas guest list
included politicians and members of the private sector of widely
diverging political convictions. Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide 
pleaded for dialogue, respect and tolerance during the time remaining
before the elections.

9. President René Préval expressed support for the Lavalas movement, 
eliciting criticism from opposition politicians. They claimed that the 
congress intertwined party and government business and accused the
Lavalas supporters of having illegally obtained access to public
vehicles.

10. The opening ceremony of the Provisional Electoral Council's civic
education campaign was marred in October by protests by supporters of
former President Aristide, and the campaign has not been launched since 
despite repeated calls by the opposition parties. The Council's
controversial decision to award a contract for the printing of ballot
papers to a local company caused the cancelling of financial commitments 
to this element of the electoral process by the European Union, which
had voiced reservations about the integrity of the competitive bidding 
process. The printing of ballot papers was eventually financed through 
government funds.

11. On 4 January 2000, CEP held a conference with the political parties 
to obtain their commitment to an electoral code of ethics binding them 
to pursue their electoral objectives by non-violent means. Numerous
parties including Fanmi Lavalas signed the code. Espace de concertation 
also signed at a later date, after obtaining amendments to the text.
Other parties, among them OPL, the Mouvement catholique pour une
nouvelle Haïti (MOCHRENA) and MPSN have not signed so far.

12. The voter registration campaign was launched on 24 January 2000.
However, registration started late in areas where there was electoral
violence. Popular organizations have been protesting about the
insufficient number of registration bureaux. Following the protests, as 
well as requests from political parties and President Préval, CEP
indicated that it would endeavour to establish more than the originally 
foreseen 3,500 registration bureaux throughout the country. Despite the 
slow start and the insufficient number of bureaux, CEP has announced
that more than 3 million voters had registered by 14 February 2000.
These figures were called into question by other observers.
Irregularities in the registration process occurred at Saint Louis du
Sud, where a number of people managed to obtain more than one electoral 
card. Frauds and irregularities were also reported at Jacmel, Hinche and 
La Gonâve.

13. A number of logistical problems caused delays in the registration
process. Shortages of registration materials and photographic equipment 
to issue picture identification cards occurred. Registration and
identification card forms were frequently unavailable in sufficient
number because of transport and storage problems. In some cases,
electoral material was vandalized or stolen. Furthermore, budgetary
pressures on CEP led to complaints among some electoral workers about
their salary levels. CEP has announced that, to accommodate those voters 
who were unable to obtain their electoral identification cards in the
early stage of the registration period, the registration campaign
deadline will be extended by nearly two weeks, until 3 March 2000.

14. The blocking of the electoral registration process at Anse
d'Hainault is cause for concern. Late in December 1999, the name of the 
former mayor of the town, George Simon of the ESKANP (Espas Solidarité
 Kan Popilè) party, was taken off the ballot on the ground that, against
the electoral law, he had started the electoral campaign prematurely.
Subsequently, he and a number of his political associates entered the
local communal electoral bureau, firing rifles in protest and wounding 
at least one bystander.

15. Representatives of ESKANP and Kowòdisyon Resistans Grandans (KOREGA) argued that electoral officials at Anse d'Hainault and elsewhere in the Grande-Anse area had been partial in their handling of electoral matters and should therefore be removed from office. Members of the communal electoral bureau, for their part, called for the arrest of the former
mayor and voiced concerns for their security. Arson at the Grande-Anse 
electoral registration bureaux of Beaumont, Dame-Marie and Petit-Goâve 
on 22 and 23 January 2000, and the looting of the house of KOREGA
members in Anse d'Hainault further aggravated the climate of tension and 
discord between electoral officials and some of the political parties. 

16. On 11 January 2000, CEP reinstated Mr. Simon as a candidate. As the 
critics of CEP remained firm and demanded personnel changes in the
Grande-Anse electoral establishment, the CEP President, Léon Manus,
indicated on 7 February that CEP would consider making personnel changes in the departmental electoral bureau. This statement was then retracted, and no change has been made so far. Tension remains high in the Grande-Anse area and, despite meetings between Espace de concertation, ESKANP and KOREGA to discuss ways to restart the electoral registration process in Anse d'Hainault, the local communal electoral bureau has not reopened so far.

III. DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS CIVILIAN POLICE MISSION IN HAITI

17. The Security Council mandated at the outset of MIPONUH that it
should be composed of up to 300 civilian police officers, including a
90-strong special police unit, along with the necessary support
personnel. On 21 February 2000, the civilian police element comprised
219 officers from 10 countries (see annex). In accordance with its
mandate, MIPONUH has continued to deploy its civilian police element
throughout Haiti's nine departments, while the special police unit has 
remained in Port-au-Prince. The unit has continued to provide security 
for Mission personnel and property on a 24-hour basis.

18. In the area of training, MIPONUH had already attained the objectives 
established for the Mission by the Director-General of the Haitian
National Police in November 1999. The curriculum of training courses
designed by MIPONUH in cooperation with the police has thus been taught 
comprehensively. During the reporting period, MIPONUH continued to
provide additional courses, in particular in the areas of border police 
operations, crowd control and first aid. The emphasis has remained on
the training of trainers.

19. Civilian police officers have continued to discharge their mentoring 
(accompagnement) responsibilities at the Offices of the Director-General 
and Inspector-General of the Haitian National Police, as well as
alongside the departmental directors of the police force. The emphasis 
has remained on community policing, the maintenance of law and order,
the fight against capital crimes and drug trafficking, and the
reinforcing of police administration and logistics.

20. Training for National Police crowd-control units (Compagnies
d'intervention et de maintien de l'ordre) has similarly continued. Such 
training ended on 25 February 2000 with the completion by 46 National
Police officers of a crowd-control course. The Haitian National Police 
has prepared and implemented a security master plan for the elections
and is now believed to be in a position to meet the majority of public 
security challenges effectively.

21. MIPONUH has continued its cooperation with bilateral programmes for 
police training, such as the ones sponsored by Canada, France and the
United States of organizations have been protesting about the
insufficient number of registration bureaux. Following the protests, as 
well as requests from political parties and President Préval, CEP
indicated that it would endeavour to establish more than the originally 
foreseen 3,500 registration bureaux throughout the country. Despite the 
slow start and the insufficient number of bureaux, CEP has announced
that more than 3 million voters had registered by 14 February 2000.
These figures were called into question by other observers.
Irregularities in the registration process occurred at Saint Louis du
Sud, where a number of people managed to obtain more than one electoral 
card. Frauds and irregularities were also reported at Jacmel, Hinche and 
La Gonâve.

22. A disengagement plan has been established to ensure the progressive 
withdrawal of MIPONUH civilian police personnel. The special police unit 
is scheduled to be withdrawn on 16 March (see also para. 43 below).

IV. HAITIAN NATIONAL POLICE

23. In my previous report (S/1999/1184, paras. 17, 18 and 22), I
outlined some of the problems faced by the Haitian National Police as a 
result of the resignation of the Secretary of State for Public Security, 
the assassination of former army colonel Jean Lamy, who had been a
consultant to the Director-General of the Haitian National Police, the 
assassination attempt against the Director of the police judiciaire, as 
well as various other acts of aggression against members of the police 
service. During the reporting period, the situation improved, both with 
regard to morale and the attained results.

24. In 1999, 20 police officers were killed, the majority of them during 
the exercise of their functions. However, the number of capital crimes 
against police officers has declined considerably since November 1999. 
The number of police officers accused of human rights violations and
other instances of inappropriate or criminal conduct has also been on
the decline for several months.

25. While the security situation in Haiti remains of concern, the police 
force has been able to work with increased efficiency in recent months. 
Since December 1999, command structures have been reorganized and the

terms of reference for senior-level posts have been revised; 46
additional officers for crowd-control units have been deployed and 85
new vehicles have been added to the fleet. Of those 85 vehicles, 50 were 
funded by the Government and 35 by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) through a donation by the Government of Japan. As a
result, the Haitian National Police was able to undertake several
successful operations in the fight against delinquency and drug
trafficking and, in most cases, to provide adequate security during
election-related events.

26. Over the past five years, with the assistance of the international 
community, the Government of Haiti has given priority to the
institutional development of its national police force, with
increasingly positive results in the areas of organization,
effectiveness and credibility. Further progress in the
professionalization of the force can be achieved only in the context of 
an integrated effort at institutional development addressing the reform 
of the justice sector as a whole. The assistance foreseen under MICAH is 
expected to consolidate and further expand the results already achieved 
by MIPONUH in this regard.

27. During a recent interview in Miami, President Préval questioned the
qualifications of the Director-General of the Haitian National Police. 
The President's statement, which prompted criticism by political
parties, has been interpreted as an attempt to gain more control over
the activities of the police force.

V. ACTIVITIES IN THE AREA OF HUMAN RIGHTS

28. In the context of the transition to MICAH, MIPONUH and MICIVIH have 
held a series of coordination meetings with a view to harmonizing their 
respective activities and preparing the transition.

29. During the reporting period, MICIVIH has continued to discharge a
wide range of institution-building activities. At the request of the
Director-General of the Haitian National Police, the Mission is
conducting courses at all the regional centres, in order to promote
police impartiality and respect for human rights during the electoral
process. MICIVIH has also continued its contribution to the training of 
recruits at the police training school, with a special focus on respect 
for the rights of women and children.

30. MICIVIH has also continued to provide legal assistance to the prison 
administration and to participate in the meetings of the working groups 
of Haitian and international experts set up last year by the Minister of 
Justice to get the judicial reform process under way. MICIVIH continues 
to provide support for the work of the Office of the Ombudsman and to
lecture at the Magistrates School on respect for international human
rights standards in the application of the law in Haiti.

VI. JUSTICE SYSTEM

31. During the month of February, meetings were conducted by the Prime 
Minister and the Minister of Justice with my Representative, the UNDP
representative and bilateral donors to prepare the assistance to
judicial reform in the context of MICAH. These initiatives suggest that 
the Government of Haiti is committed to the reform of the justice system 
and to ensuring effective coordination among all the actors in this
sector. My Representative continues to liaise with bilateral donors with 
a view to ensuring better coordination of the international community's 
interventions in the justice sector.

32. The eight joint working groups composed of Haitian officials and
international experts established last year by the Minister of Justice 
(see S/1999/1184, para. 24) have continued to work on the drafting of
legal texts with a view to promoting the judicial reform process.

33. The Port-au-Prince Government Prosecutor (Commissaire du
Gouvernement) Florence Matthieu, was dismissed by the Minister of
Justice on 10 February 2000 for alleged serious professional mistakes
(fautes administratives graves). The Minister indicated that the
Prosecutor had illegally ordered the release of two former police
officers and a civilian involved in drug trafficking. The suspects,
whose cases are still under review by an examining magistrate (juge
d'instruction), had been detained since 1998. Prosecutor Matthieu has
rejected all the accusations of impropriety made against her by the
Minister and some human rights organizations have criticized the
Minister's decision. A new Prosecutor has now been nominated by the
Government.

34. It will be recalled that a former general of the Haitian armed
forces, Claude Raymond, who was arrested in July 1996 and accused of
conspiring against the State, had been held in pre-trial detention since 
then, despite court orders to release him. General Raymond died in a
Port-au-Prince hospital on 9 February 2000. This case, as well as that 
of the two former police officers mentioned in paragraph 33 above, have 
once again underlined the need to address the issue of prolonged
pre-trial detention and the non-execution of judicial release orders.

35. In December 1999, jury trials were held in several jurisdictions in 
the country after a long period of interruption, thereby suggesting an 
increased commitment by the authorities to restoring the credibility and 
confidence of the people in the judicial system.

VII. DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

36. The United Nations system has kept up its efforts to implement the 
Secretary-General's reform programme. The first steps towards the
implementation of Economic and Social Council resolution 1999/11 of 27 
July 1999 were taken during the previous reporting period with the
establishment of a common country assessment orientation committee.

37. During the past three months, under the guidance of the orientation 
committee, jointly headed by the Prime Minister and the United Nations 
Resident Coordinator, 17 thematic groups composed of representatives
from the Government, United Nations agencies, donor agencies and civil 
society have made progress in the preparation of the common country
assessment. The final common country assessment document is expected to 
be completed before the elections in March/ April 2000. The results of 
the assessment should provide the basis for the formulation of a
long-term national programme of development, the formulation of the
United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the revival of
policy dialogue and sectoral planning mechanisms once a new parliament 
and government are in place.

38. The Resident Coordinator's report for 1999 was issued on 31 January 
2000. The report outlined the major achievements of the United Nations 
system during the year, in particular in the areas of poverty
eradication, institution strengthening, HIV/AIDS prevention, gender
equality and coordination with the United Nations country team in the
Dominican Republic.

39. UNDP has continued to support development cooperation efforts aimed 
at launching a joint project with the Government of Norway to conduct a 
survey of living conditions, providing technical support to the
Provisional Electoral Council, particularly in the regions, and
assisting in the procurement of the electoral kits.

40. Other development activities of the United Nations system have
included the launching of a United Nations Capital Development Fund
programme to strengthen governance for the environment; the organization 
by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and MICIVIH of a national
workshop for the preparation of the first report on the implementation 
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the supporting by UNICEF 
of the national commission on girls' education for the organization of a
national symposium; the supporting by the World Health Organization
(WHO/PAHO) of a national vaccination campaign for 300,000 children; the 
continuation and enhancement by the World Food Programme of its health 
and nutrition project; and the continuation of the socio-urban
development activities in Port-au-Prince of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO, in 
the framework both of the forthcoming elections and the International
Year for the Culture of Peace, also called on the candidates to sign the 
Manifeste 2000 for the Culture of Peace. Furthermore, the International 
Organization for Migration provided support to the National Office for 
Migration in facilitating the mass repatriation of the thousands of
Haitians expelled by the authorities of the Dominican Republic during
the last three months.

VIII. FINANCIAL ASPECTS

41. By its resolution 53/222 B of 8 June 1999, the General Assembly
appropriated an amount of $18,641,616 gross for the maintenance of
MIPONUH until 30 November 1999 and its liquidation thereafter. The
mandate of the Mission was subsequently extended to 15 March 2000 and, 
in the light of that decision, I obtained a commitment authority from
the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions in the 
amount of $2.2 million for the extension.

42. As at 31 January 2000, unpaid assessed contributions to the Special 
Account for MIPONUH amounted to $23 million. The total of the
outstanding assessed contributions for all peacekeeping operations at
that date was $2.1 billion.

IX. LIQUIDATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS CIVILIAN POLICE
MISSION IN HAITI AND TRANSITION TO THE INTERNATIONAL
CIVILIAN SUPPORT MISSION IN HAITI

43. A task force was first established in 1999 to plan the orderly
withdrawal and liquidation of MIPONUH. By early February 2000, the
withdrawal plans for the Mission's civilian police personnel were
finalized and their repatriation is expected to be concluded by 15
March. The Mission has earmarked some assets to be retained in MICAH.
The liquidation phase is expected to be completed by 30 June 2000.

44. As regards MICAH, the recruitment of police advisors for the new
mission is under way. The need to place the advisors with senior-level 

officials of the Haitian National Police has constituted an integral
part of the strategic plan for the police since 1996. The advisers are 
expected to provide continued training and mentoring support to National 
Police decision makers, who still do not have all the necessary
experience to command and administer their young police force.

45. Concerning the new mission, the Secretariat has identified and
recommended candidates for the majority of the positions to be financed 
under the regular budget. These positions will need to be complemented 
by personnel that will be financed by extrabudgetary means. While a
number of suitable candidates have already been identified for the
latter positions, and although these candidates would be ready for
deployment in the early stages of the new mission, their recruitment
remains subject to the actual receipt of funds pledged by Member States. 

X. OBSERVATIONS

46. The restoration and consolidation of democracy have been the
overarching goals of all the United Nations missions in Haiti. However, 
the consolidation of democratic institutions can be accomplished only in 
a climate of tolerance and if all the actors continue to work peacefully 
together to carry out free and fair legislative elections and to restore 
the legislative branch without further delay. All political leaders,
therefore, have an obligation to comply with the code of conduct
established by the Provisional Electoral Council and to ensure that they 
and their supporters refrain from any violence, intimidation or any
other act that could still put the holding and the fairness of the
elections at risk.

47. Notwithstanding the political pressures that followed the
resignation of the Secretary of State for Public Security, it appears
that the Haitian National Police has maintained its impartiality and
played a vital role in ensuring security during the electoral
registration process. National Police officers have made their presence 
felt in electoral offices throughout the country, escorted electoral
officials and candidates and guarded the transport and storage of
electoral materials. Despite some coordination problems between the
Haitian National Police and the Provisional Electoral Council, the
overall record over the last three months has indeed been encouraging. 

48. The evolution of the electoral process during the period under
review is encouraging. Despite numerous obstacles, the Provisional
Electoral Council and its electoral workers have made successful efforts 
to register candidates and voters, prepare and distribute
election-related materials, set up and expand registration facilities, 
and finalize the electoral code of ethics. While deep concern had been 
expressed in the past that another postponement of the legislative
elections would further erode the confidence of the Haitian people in
the electoral process, the joint efforts of the Haitian political
leaders, the Provisional Electoral Council and the international
community have helped to create conditions for meeting the electoral
deadline of 19 March 2000.

49. By deciding to establish MICAH, the international community has
confirmed that it is committed to continuing to assist the Government of 
Haiti in the reinforcement of the country's democratic institutions. The 
new mission is expected to consolidate and develop the results already 
achieved by MIPONUH and MICIVIH as regards respect for human rights and reinforcement of the institutional effectiveness of the police and the 
judiciary, and to coordinate and facilitate the international
community's dialogue with political and social actors in Haiti. Subject 
to the availability of resources, the Mission's relatively short-term
objectives will be situated in the longer-term perspective of
facilitating the passage from security to development priorities, in
line with the recommendations of the Economic and Social Council.

50. Taking into account the views expressed by the Government of Haiti, 
as well as the recommendations of the Economic and Social Council and
the General Assembly, I appeal to Member States to continue to assist in 
this transition from peacekeeping to peace-building and to contribute to 
the Trust Fund that has been established for MICAH. That Trust Fund will 
allow for the recruitment of over 100 advisers in the areas of police, 
justice and human rights. It will also provide for a minimum of
complementary material assistance needed by those advisers and their
counterparts in the Haitian National Police, the Ministry of Justice,
the Magistrates School, the courts, the prison system and the Office of 
the Ombudsman.

51. Institutional, social and economic development must be addressed in 
an integrated manner in order to consolidate ....