Photo: A UN peacekeeper patrols Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Credit: Flickr/UN photo (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Why is the U.S. seeking to deploy a new UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti?
Kenyan police officers were sent to Haiti on June 25 as part of a United Nations-mandated mission. This mission involved a large coalition of security forces from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Jamaica, totaling 2,500 officers. The mission’s stated goal is to regain control over Haitian territory, much of which is currently under the control of local gangs and armed groups. The military intervention project is primarily sponsored by the United States government, which has pledged $300 million and received monetary support from Canada, France, and Spain. However, this funding strategy has raised criticism that the operation is, in reality, another territorial invasion of Haiti. Months after the Kenyan police were deployed to Haiti, security in the country has not improved.
Amidst challenges related to funding for the Multinational Mission and a need for additional equipment, the United States is contemplating a significant transformation. The Kenyan-led Security and Support Mission in Haiti could evolve into a traditional UN peacekeeping operation. This shift, where the UN could deploy military forces instead of police to lead operations in Haiti, is a development that the United States is actively exploring. Washington’s proposal to alter the status of the multinational force could potentially resolve the mission’s funding issues, as the other member countries of the UN would then be responsible for its financing in terms of missing materials, other military equipment, and even a hospital for surgical operations.
Aren’t UN peacekeepers neutral?
While theoretically based on principles of sovereign equality and international cooperation, the UN often reflects the power dynamics of global capitalism. It is maintained by the core capitalist powers, particularly the United States, Western Europe, and their allies.
Through its peacekeeping operations, the UN can be viewed as a tool used to legitimize imperialist interventions. It camouflages imperialism under the pretext of “human rights,” “humanitarianism,” or “peacekeeping.” Peacekeeping missions are strategically placed in areas where Western powers hold significant resources and geopolitical interests. These operations, which are often inconsistent and selective, expose the institution’s biases. The UN tends to intervene during conflicts that threaten Western interests while looking the other way and minimizing crises in regions with little economic or strategic interests.
What’s the history of UN peacekeeping in Haiti?
UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) – 1993-1996
Peacekeepers first arrived in Haiti, in September 1993 as part of The UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH).
The mission was mandated to modernize the Haitian army and establish a new national police force two years after Haiti’s elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was removed from office during a coup d’etat. Before his ouster, Aristide implemented policies to redistribute wealth and improve working class conditions.
After Aristide was restored to office in October 1994 following the UN-sanctioned, and U.S.-led, “Operation Uphold Democracy” launched the month before, the mission’s mandate was expanded to include helping to stabilize the government. Aristide’s government faced significant pressure from the IMF and the World Bank to implement structural adjustment programs. These programs often involved privatization and deregulation, disproportionately harming the working class and benefiting foreign investors.
However, UNMIH, which concluded in June 1996, failed to deliver long-term stability. A decade later, history repeated itself as Aristide was overthrown for a second time.
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) – 2004-2017
Following the second U.S.-backed coup against democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004, the UN sent peacekeepers to stabilize the country. This intervention was seen as serving the interests of U.S. imperialism, which aimed to prevent the rise of a progressive government that could challenge neoliberal policies and foreign exploitation in Haiti.
The UN mission in Haiti was criticized for its role in perpetuating the political and economic structures that favored the Haitian elite and foreign investors while neglecting to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and inequality in the country. The UN’s 2004-2017 failed peacekeeping mission was also marred by allegations of sexual assault by its troops and staffers. Furthermore, peacekeepers from Nepal were blamed for introducing cholera into Haiti’s largest river in October 2010, resulting in the death of over 10,000 Haitian people. Although the UN has acknowledged its role in the epidemic and the lack of sufficient effort to combat it, it has not explicitly admitted to introducing the disease.
Our role in the United States is to oppose intervention in Haiti!
Real solutions to the crises the Haitian people are confronting will come from the Haitian people themselves — not the United States, Kenya nor the UN.
While the people of Haiti continue their struggle for sovereignty and respect, the people of the United States must stand with Haiti in resisting neocolonial occupation and intervention.
Hands off Haiti!
