FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Mission to the United Nations: Remarks at the Security Council Debate on MINUSTAH
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Special Representative Honoré, for your briefing and for your leadership. And thank you to all the dedicated women and men who are serving in MINUSTAH, who are working with you to build a more secure and stable Haiti.
The troop and police contributors to Haiti, many of whom we have heard from – several of whom we will soon hear from – have made a world of difference in the lives of the Haitian people. The whole international community is grateful.
When the Council met to discuss Haiti in March, there was cautious optimism that the signature of the El Rancho Accord and the dialogue mediated by the Episcopal Conference would help break the country’s political stalemate, and lead to long-overdue elections. So it is deeply disappointing, as other Council members have pointed out, that five months later, so little progress has been made toward that goal. Haiti still doesn’t even have an electoral law, leading the country’s provisional electoral council to declare recently that Haiti will not be able to hold elections on October 26, 2014, the date the government had set.
Many of Haiti’s elected leaders have worked tirelessly to seek a political compromise and have offered meaningful concessions toward that end, including with regard to the composition of the electoral council and the cabinet. But a group of six senators seems intent on holding elections hostage to partisan concerns, even going so far as to prevent a debate on the electoral law. Legislators in a democracy have a responsibility to defend their constituents’ rights. But when elected officials take advantage of democracy’s checks and balances to cynically block debate and elections altogether, they stand in the way of addressing citizens’ real needs.
And the needs of Haiti’s citizens, as we all know, are real – very, very real. Massive progress has been made to find homes for the one and a half million people displaced by the 2010 earthquake, but 70,000 people are still displaced. And much work remains to be done to provide for citizens’ basic needs – like electricity, quality schools, and access to doctors. Haitians expect their government to provide for these needs, and are understandably frustrated when they are not met.
So our message to all of Haiti’s politicians is clear: come together to pass an electoral law, and hold free, fair, and inclusive elections in respect of constitutional deadlines. Every UN member state should join that call and we are heartened that so many have done so.
Despite the political deadlock in Haiti, there has been encouraging progress on other fronts. We welcome the ongoing expansion and professionalization of the Haitian National Police. Police have shown an increased capacity to maintain public order while respecting people’s rights. We also recognize MINUSTAH’s efforts to strengthen Haiti’s justice sector, such as seeking to improve the capacity of judges and prosecutors, and increasing access to legal aid. Haiti’s prison system needs urgent fixing. Haiti’s prisons, which have a capacity of around 6,000 people, currently house over 10,000. And nearly 80 percent are awaiting trial.
Let us be clear: our work in Haiti is not finished. But just because significant development and political challenges persist does not make MINUSTAH the solution to all of them, nor does it mean that the mission should be kept just as it is. We have to right-size MINUSTAH to fit Haiti’s evolving needs. We agree with our colleagues that decisions about the size and configuration of the force should be conditions-based. And like our friends in the region who have given so much to Haiti’s recovery, we are a neighbor of Haiti’s and we have a deep and demonstrated interest in Haiti’s security and the growth and success of its democracy. The United States agrees with the Secretary General’s determination – based on a thorough review – that conditions support further consolidating MINUSTAH’s military component in the upcoming mandate. We agree with the Special Representative that support from MINUSTAH’s robust police component to Haiti’s National Police is still critically necessary. And a smaller military component must stand ready to assist – on short notice – anywhere that unrest overwhelms the combined capacity of Haitian and UN police. With continued, robust MINUSTAH support, we look to Haiti’s government to assume greater responsibility for security, including for elections.
We are committed to discussing with partners how MINUSTAH should be adjusted. We believe that the Secretariat, the SRSG, and the Force Commander have taken the facts on the ground into account, and they have concluded that conditions support the adjusted force levels recommended by the Secretary-General.
In conclusion, Haiti has real needs. It has been through so much and it faces tremendous challenges. We as an international community continue to experiment and to learn and to adjust around the most effective ways to help the Haitian people address those very real needs. We will continue to do so as Haiti continues to move along the path to self-sufficiency. Thank you.
