In response to the debate on Haiti in the European Parliament on February 5, 2024, the Europe-Haiti Coordination (CoEH) once again calls on the European Union to be more attentive to the proposals of Haitian civil society for a lasting solution to the increasingly extreme crisis in Haiti. Haiti needs new leadership, a transitional government composed of credible and progressive figures who are committed to promoting democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law. Haiti needs international aid that supports strategies likely to contribute to a definitive resolution of the Haitian crisis.
Read the text of the appeal below:
Brussels, 6 March 2024
Appeal by the Coordination Europe Haiti to the European Union
The Coordination Europe-Haiti (CoEH) followed with great interest the debate on Haiti at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 5 February 2024, entitled “The situation in Haiti on the eve of the deployment of the United Nations Multinational Security Support Mission”. It once again calls on the European Union to pay greater attention to the proposals put forward by Haitian civil society for a lasting solution to the increasingly severe crisis in Haiti.
The CoEH noted with satisfaction that all the speakers and spokespersons of the political groups recognised the extremely difficult situation in which the Haitian people find themselves and that it is essential that Europe does not turn its back on Haiti and its people in distress. We welcome the words of Commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean, who, in her statement on behalf of the European Commission, signalled the European Union’s willingness to support efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons, the need to put in place effective accountability mechanisms to protect human rights in the context of a likely deployment of the Multinational Mission, and to avoid the mistakes made with MINUSTAH, its continued commitment to Haiti through cooperation and humanitarian funds, and its appeal to the main Haitian political players to engage in genuine dialogue and redouble their efforts to find a compromise. However, we would also have hoped to see the announcement of a real willingness on the part of the European Union to support a process aimed at finding a lasting Haitian solution to the crisis.
Since our last communication on 30 October 2023, the situation in Haiti has only worsened. “The already disastrous human rights situation has deteriorated further, against a backdrop of incessant and growing gang violence, with disastrous consequences for Haitians”, denounced Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights.[1] Against this backdrop of acute violence, a mobilisation against Ariel Henry, called for by several socio-political organisations, is gaining momentum. The Prime Minister was due to step down on 7 February 2024, according to a political agreement signed in 2022, but he is clinging to power. The Haitian Catholic Bishops’ Conference itself noted “the government’s inaction and inability to protect the population” and called on the authorities to assume their responsibilities.[2]
The solution to the crisis advocated by the international community is the deployment of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Force (MMAS), authorised by the United Nations Security Council in a resolution adopted on 2 October 2023. Following the Kenyan Supreme Court’s ruling on 26 January 2024 that the dispatch of Kenyan police officers to Haiti was “unconstitutional, illegal and invalid”, the deployment of the MMAS is still uncertain. Nevertheless, should this new mission become effective, there is a strong risk that, like previous interventions, it will fail if the fundamental problem is not tackled: a failing state whose catastrophic management is based on social exclusion. The country’s resources, institutions and failing judicial system exist solely for the benefit of a small group. Interventions by the international community, including the one planned today with Kenya, will only reinforce these inequalities and the causes of so many crises, until this systemic problem is resolved. If the MMAS is deployed under the current conditions, it will only reinforce the polarisation that already exists, with the very significant risk of an increase in violence in the capital and its spread throughout the country.
In view of the worsening situation in Haiti and considering Resolution 2069 authorising the deployment of a multinational force adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 2 October 2023 and the debate on Haiti at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on 5 February 2024, the CoEH calls on the European Union to apply its fundamental values and principles of justice, democracy and human rights in its policy towards Haiti. More specifically, the CoEH calls on the EU and its Member States to:
- To cease all support for those in power in Haiti who have no legitimacy or credibility, and whose actions and especially inactions only serve to reinforce the gangs and the crisis in the country. It also calls for preferential support for a transition process towards the establishment of a democratic state, mindful of the population’s need for social justice and freedom. We insist on the need for a change of leadership and call once again for the formation of a “break with the past” government made up of credible and progressive figures committed to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Only such a government will be able to create an environment conducive to the restoration of national security, with external support if necessary, and facilitate the holding of free and fair elections.
- To support a Haitian solution that protects those sectors of the Haitian population that are not involved in human rights violations, trafficking of all kinds and corruption, and that are active in the search for consensual alternatives for a lasting solution to the crisis that has dragged on in Haiti for too long. The vacillation surrounding the MMAS reflects the complexity of the issues at stake in Haiti and underlines the importance of not rushing into initiatives or resurrecting old approaches that have proved ineffective. So far, the same political elites who have led the country into disaster over the last few decades are the ones who are being consulted. It is time to include new credible players in the talks, such as representatives of the grassroots sectors, the provinces, and the diaspora, in order to revive hope for a better future for Haiti.
- Put in place a genuine policy to support the fight against trafficking in arms and munitions, especially from the United States, by imposing sanctions against individuals involved in these crimes. The CoEH takes note of the EU’s contribution to the support project for the Haitian National Police (HNP) in cooperation with the UNDP and the UNODC, which aims, among other things, to strengthen the HNP’s capacity to combat arms and ammunition trafficking. However, the known links between gangs and some members of the police force may limit the effectiveness of the support. Genuine political supervision and the removal of criminal elements are necessary, underlining the need for a credible transitional government. In addition, the CoEH reiterates its request to the EU to help identify anyone supporting gangs, trafficking in arms, munitions and drugs, and corruption in Haiti, to impose effective sanctions in full transparency with the public, and to forward the files to the Haitian justice system for follow-up.
We thank you for your attention to our appeal and remain at your disposal for any further information and/or a more in-depth discussion of our demands.
For the COEH,
Christophe Mohni Ornella Braceschi
Coordinator CoEH President Collectif Haïti de France/Steering Committee Member
[1] Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme : Haïti : Türk met en garde contre une aggravation de la crise des droits humains après le mois le plus violent en deux ans, 09 février 2024, https://www.ohchr.org/fr/press-releases/2024/02/haiti-turk-warns-deepening-human-rights-crisis-following-most-violent-month
[2] Rfi: Journal d’Haïti et des Amériques, Insécurité en Haïti : les évêques constatent « l’inaction du gouvernement, 12/02/2024, https://rfi.my/AL4Q