Haitians need support. The poorest country in the western hemisphere, immiserated by France and the US, has spiralled into rampant violence and despair in the last year and a half. Gangs control about 80% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and tens of thousands have fled their homes to escape the kidnappings, robberies, rapes and murders. Police are vastly outnumbered and underfunded, leading to vigilantism. The security emergency is matched by a humanitarian crisis: in some areas, 97% of the population suffer severe hunger.
Not one elected official remains. Ariel Henry, acting leader since the still murky assassination of president Jovenel Moïse in 2021, has presided over the collapse into chaos. Unelected, unpopular and incompetent, he has called for outside help. Haitians are understandably suspicious of foreign intervention. Peacekeepers with the 2004-17 UN mission brought cholera, which killed at least 10,000 people, and carried out sexual exploitation and violence. It is a testament to how dire the situation is that a majority say they would back a multinational force.
It may be on its way. Since the US does not want to do the job, and could not persuade Canada to take it on, the plan taking shape involves a mainly police-based force of about 2,000 led by Kenya, with contributions from Caribbean nations. While the regional role is welcome and Kenya has significant peacekeeping experience, the Kenyan police’s record of abusing power domestically is cause for grave concern. Critics also fear that a small-scale multinational force will have limited effect on security but bolster a prime minister who has no mandate and no trust from Haitians.
Civil society, politicians, former officials and businesses have pushed for a political transition. The Caribbean intergovernmental body Caricom has brought the credibility that the US and UN lack in Haiti to brokering discussions, but critics say it lacks the capacity and commitment to push the process forward on its own. There was also anger when its group leading talks released a statement criticising “strident” calls for Mr Henry’s departure. Though he took part in talks in Jamaica this summer, it is clear that he will not step back without real pressure. It is equally clear that Washington does not plan to apply it.
Haiti’s political class has failed its people. Among those sanctioned by the US and Canada in relation to corruption and crime are two former presidents and two former prime ministers. Mr Henry’s chief advantages for the US appear to be that he is in place, and thus offers putative political stability, and that he does not object to mass deportations, which surged under Donald Trump and then again under Joe Biden. The US envoy to Haiti resigned citing that “inhumane” policy. While the rate of removals has fallen back, deportation flights to Haiti continued this month even after the US urged all its nationals to leave for safety reasons. This is not merely inhumane: it is unconscionable.
Haiti’s situation is desperate. But real support would mean more than a conscience-salving mission, compared by one human rights activist to “a Band-Aid on a cancer”. If those outside really want to help, they must listen to civil society, not just Mr Henry, before dispatching a security force, and must prioritise political transition too.
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