‘Without Them, The Worst May Be Yet To Come’

The United Nations’ Human Rights Chief welcomed the decision to expand the security mission for Haiti but warned that it is imperative to implement it soon.

“International commitment and backing for this are urgent,” said Volker Türk. “Without them, the worst may be yet to come for Haiti and the broader region.”

The resolution in question significantly expands and transforms a security mission aimed at fighting gangs in the beleaguered country, which control most of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The unit can now have up to 5,500 uniformed personnel and can have both police officers and soldiers. This stands in contrast with the current mission, which only contemplates police.

Laurent Saint-Cyr, who heads the Haitian Transitional Presidential Council, had called for such an expansion last week at the United Nations’ General Assembly. “”Entire neighborhoods are disappearing, forcing more than a million people into internal exile and reducing to nothing memories, investments and infrastructure,” he said.

“This is the face of Haiti today, a country at war, a contemporary Guernica, a human tragedy on America’s doorstep,” he added.

The proposal was pitched by the U.S. and Panama. Before the vote, the U.S.’s s chargé d’affaires in Haiti said the force would be much more lethal than the current one.

“To be clear, the mission is colored overwhelmingly as military due to the urban combat nature of it,” said Henry Wooster. “But also happy to take police.”

Türk, however, also expressed concerns over Haitians dying as a result of “unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force in operations against gangs.”

The Miami Herald noted that specialized police units have summarily executed 174 people for alleged affiliation with gangs so far this year.

“I am concerned that state law enforcement have used unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force in their operations against the gangs,” Turk added. “For example, operations by law enforcement account for more than half of all killings and injuries so far this year.”

He singled out the used of explosive-laden drones, noting that they have killed “at least 559 people, including 11 children.” “Most of these drone strikes are likely unlawful under international human rights law,” he added.