That’s why it’s important to have contact with the Haitian authorities and the Haitian police.īob Rae: We have much better information than we had. To know the difference, you have very good people with experience to organize intelligence. You are a foreigner there, and you need to be very careful not to confuse criminals with the population because they are inside the population.

They are in the middle of the population. In this kind of work, the problem of street gangs is very sensitive. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz: It’s fundamental to have personal experience in intelligence. How effective you work hinges on access to good information. We need to show an understanding that we are dealing with some of the most violent and brutal killers that work today in Haiti.ĭisplaced men, women, and children sheltering in a boxing arena in downtown Port-au-Prince after fleeing their homes during gang attacks in August 2023. I know that will be an integral part of the discussions at the Security Council. I think the requirement that any force in any other country has to be respectful of the law and respectful of human rights is completely understood. We couldn’t possibly see this kind of a mission undertaken without deep learning on the basis of others’ experiences. The security issue is becoming critically important. It’s a very difficult undertaking, but all of the UN has come together with one voice to say, “unless we have a coherent approach on security, we’re not going to be able to address the other issue”. It’s very important to establish a joint operation and establish a very professional relationship with the Haitian police.īob Rae: This mission is not going to be a walk in the park. It’s fundamental to have joint operations. The first step is about how to operate together with the Haitian police. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz: When you arrive in a country, you typically have four or five months to organize the mission, for all contingents to arrive on the ground, to organize police units and the work. We do have to move pretty quickly to respond.Īmbassador Robert Rae of Canada addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s 78th session. Something which we very much want to see is a process of engagement that will not take too long. I think once the resolution is passed and approved by the Security Council, it then will become possible for everybody to get moving quickly. That will, I’m sure, be increased over the next few days. There already have been publicly a number of countries that have indicated their support and what they want to do.

All of us, who’ve been helping in the improvement of the Haitian National Police, will be supporting them. The solutions will come from Haitians.īob Rae: The Kenyans have stepped up, which I think is critically important, but they will not be alone. It’s an illusion to think that the UN is going there to deliver solutions. The solution depends on the Haitians, on the government, and on the public working in Haiti. Then, you need to understand the position of local partners and local government. It’s a very complex context, and it’s very important to be aware of all the variables in the country. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz: A new mission in Haiti will need first to understand the context. With over 150 gangs operating in and around the country, all roads in and out of Haiti's capital are now under some form of gang control. We asked them what a non-UN security operation would look like on the ground, what it will take to set up, and how the UN would be involved with the new mission.Ī burned car serves as a barricade on a street in Port-au-Prince. He is the author of Improving Security of United Nations Peacekeepers: We need to change the way we are doing business, and headed up the UN Secretary-General’s fact-finding mission in Ukraine. He was Force Commander of the UN Stabilization Mission there ( MINUSTAH) from 2007 to 2009. “It’s an illusion to think that the UN is going there to deliver solutions the solutions will come from Haitians,” added retired Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil in a separate interview with us. “This is not a typical or old kind of peacekeeping mission,” Ambassador Robert Rae of Canada, Chair of the Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC) Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, told UN News. This week, the Security Council will consider a draft resolution on a new non-UN multinational mission under the UN Charter’s Chapter VII provision allowing the use of force.

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