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The violent April 2008 protests against the high cost of living underscored the continued fragility of Haiti’s security situation and the need for rapid progress in security sector reform (SSR). This International Crisis Group report examines Haiti’s security sector and argues that stability lies in expediting and concluding reforms to the police and justice sector, and improving cross-border cooperation with it neighbours. These challenges are all the more urgent, as they come at a time when Haiti is struggling with severe hurricane devastation.
Operations led by the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSTAH) largely disbanded armed gangs in the slums of Haiti’s cities in early 2007, but security and stability are far from consolidated. Serious crime persists, especially kidnapping and drug trafficking, and in the absence of a sufficiently large and fully operational police force, and functioning justice and penitentiary systems, it threatens to undermine political progress. This was evident with the fall of Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis’s government following April 2008 protests and riots against high living costs.
The new Prime Minister, Michèle Pierre-Louis, and President René Préval need to act immediately and decisively, utilising MINUSTAH and donor help, to conclude police and justice reform.
The devastation left by the procession of tropical storms and hurricanes compounded an already difficult situation for the new Haitian Government. Making decisive and swift headway with SSR is a vital part of any durable solutions to its political and economic, as well as security problems. The Government of Haiti needs to:
Author: International Crisis Group
Source: International Crisis Group, 2008, âReforming Haitiâs Security Sectorâ, Latin America/Caribbean Report N°28, 18 September 2008 , International Crisis Group, Port-au-Prince/Brussels
Size: 41 pages (1.12MB)