Thank you very much.
For clarification, I will be doing the five-minute intervention. My colleague can join us during the question period.
Thank you for having invited us this morning to join you in the proceedings. All protocols are observed.
The International Crisis Group has been working in Haiti for many years. As a conflict prevention organization that bases its analysis in fieldwork and extensive interviews with Haitian actors, we hope to reflect the multitude of opinions that we have encountered in our work there.
I would like to focus my remarks today both on the merits and the obstacles of the request that foreign armed troops be sent to Haiti. Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry has said that he needs help combatting the violent gangs that are terrorizing civilian populations in Port-au-Prince and beyond.
The UN Secretary-General, after sending a needs-assessment mission, agrees that this kind of intervention is necessary. His proposal to the Security Council includes two stages. First, a rapid-action task force would arrive in Haiti to help create humanitarian corridors to guarantee that there is safe passage of basic goods to the communities that need them. He then outlines some options for the medium term following withdrawal of the rapid-intervention force.
The first reaction of many Haitians to this proposal was overwhelmingly negative, and with good reasons: Haiti has suffered the consequences of detrimental colonial interventions throughout its entire history.
We understand and share the demands and concerns that are behind the call for a Haitian-led solution, but, as our recent visit to Haiti and many conversations in previous months have shown, the situation there is increasingly dramatic, and inaction might not necessarily be the best course of action.
The war led by gangs has not only resulted in murder, kidnappings and the strategic use of sexual violence to control the population; the gangs' control of ports, markets and roads has also limited access to fuel, food, water and medical services. Now the fast spread of cholera threatens to kill many more.
Our trip to Haiti, however, showed us something else. Many of the people we spoke to, particularly those who live in areas under gang control, called for international help. Many of these people spoke reluctantly. They did not want us to think that they support the government or that they are not patriots. They are also not blind to the difficulties a mission will face, but they see no other option. In the words of a man we spoke to in Port-au-Prince: “We are no fools. An armed intervention will not solve the situation, but to stop the spiral of violence, a multinational force is needed.” These voices are not heard as frequently or as loudly, but they are certainly very much part of the conversation taking place in Haiti today.
The merits of sending troops, however, cannot be the only consideration in moving forward. It is important to understand that the political context will determine the chances for this force to succeed. Without a broad agreement among political and social forces in Haiti, these foreign troops could end up working to strengthen the mandate of Prime Minister Henry, which is widely disliked among the population, and it could end up making the political crisis even worse.
Another danger is that without such an agreement, if Prime Minister Henry ends up leaving power, the troops could find themselves working for a new government that does not welcome them.
This is why it is crucial that Haitians come together in a national dialogue of sorts to determine if they want the arrival of these troops, and if so, what exactly their mandate would be. Ideally, that agreement would also design a transitional government that is seen by all Haitians as legitimate and that can start the process of reconstructing the state, providing its citizens with much-needed access to services and rebuilding the electoral system so that a free and fair vote can take place in the future.
The content of that agreement is for Haitians to decide, although the international community must stand ready to serve as facilitator or mediator if that would be helpful to the process.
Thank you.