Miami Herald
By Jacqueline Charles
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com
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After three weeks of intensive training in Miami, 21 Haiti National Police officers from the country’s anti-narcotics units graduated Friday. Miami-Dade police officers, who led the U.S. State Department-financed training program, say they hope new techniques the Haitian officers learned will better equip them in tracking and apprehending suspects in the country where its porous borders leave it susceptible to drug trafficking and smuggling. “What we are trying to do is show them the way we work, the way we function, the way we operate,” said Miami Dade Police Sgt. Oscar Pla, who coordinated the training sessions. The Haitian officers participated in sessions on interrogation and tactical shooting techniques, classroom briefings and on-the-street surveillance. In one recent role-playing session, a Miami-Dade officer walked over and slid behind the wheel of a parked car in the parking lot of the Miami-Dade Public Safety Training Institute. Three plainclothes officers followed, one taking the front passenger seat, the other two sitting in the back.
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As the Miami-Dade officer spoke, the three others listened intently as he gave instructions on how to properly position the vehicle and use binoculars to search out targets. Dozens of Miami-Dade officers, some of them Creole-speaking Haitian-American cops, helped with the training. Pla acknowledged the Haitian officers may face challenges putting their new techniques into place. Among the stories Pla and others heard: Haitian police often must ride four to a vehicle. If there is a flat tire, they have to take it off another vehicle because there are no spares. With police having no access to helicopters or boats, suspects often escape before officers can get through Port-au-Prince’s traffic-clogged streets. Even keeping up their shooting skills is a challenge. “They were telling me they shoot once they get out of the academy and don’t shoot again because they don’t have the ammunition,” Pla said. But even with such reality, there are still techniques the Haitians officers can do to increase arrests — from using cell phones to photograph and videotape suspects to learning that it’s sometimes better to lose the target than to blow your cover. “This has been a good experience,” said Jean Gaston Racine, 45, who joined the Haitian force 17 years ago. “After this experience, I believe we’ll be better equipped to respond to the drug trafficking problem in the country,” he said. Still, making everything work won’t be easy. “We are late with the new technology and that impacts our ability to do our job,” said Ronick Philogene, 39, also a 17-year veteran.
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Miami-Dade officers say they were impressed with their students. Many have college degrees and years of policing under their belt. Racine himself once spent 29 days on a U.S. ship patrolling the waters near Guantánamo searching for traffickers at sea. Friday’s graduation came on the same day that the State Department rescheduled a visit to Haiti by New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and William Brownfield, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement. Like Miami-Dade, New York City’s police department is among 50 law enforcement agencies helping the State Department train the Haitian National Police. In Haiti, NYPD officers have helped introduce Haitians to advanced crime solving forensics techniques. Last year, they worked alongside the anti-kidnapping unit in dismantling several major kidnapping rings. Brownfield has been vocal about increased Caribbean drug trafficking as drug dealers in Mexico and Central America get squeezed out by counter-narcotics efforts. Last month the U.N. Security Council called on both Haiti and its peacekeeping mission in the country to increase efforts to strengthen the 10,000-member police, which has fallen short of its goal of 14,000 officers by 2011.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release April 2, 2013
2013/0358
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MEDIA NOTE
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Haitian National Police to Train at Miami Dade Police Department
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Twenty-one officers from the Haitian National Police Counternarcotics Unit (BLTS) started a three-week “Train the Trainer” course at the Miami-Dade Public Safety Training Institute (MDPSTI) yesterday, April 1. The training covers advanced law enforcement investigation techniques. The Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) collaborated on the curriculum, equipment, and logistics for this training. The three-week training aims to enhance the professional skills of the BLTS officers and build their professional network. Miami-Dade instructors will share knowledge and skills with their Haitian counterparts through in-service training at their Public Safety Training Institute. Increasing the capacity and skill of BLTS personnel will improve their abilities to address and combat drug trafficking and drug transshipment in and out of Haiti. In addition to endangering U.S. citizens, the drug trade in Haiti undermines the rule of law in that country by fostering corruption and fomenting armed violence perpetrated by criminal gangs and political opposition groups.
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The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the Miami-Dade Police Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 19, 2012 to cooperate on training, advising, and mentoring international law enforcement personnel. Miami-Dade is one of more than 50 U.S. state and local agency partners from communities around the United States who help foreign law enforcement and judicial officials enhance their civilian security and justice sector capacity. Through these agreements, U.S. partners develop networks of contacts with foreign counterparts that assist them in stemming the tide of illicit drugs and transnational crime that are entering their own communities. Making international law enforcement connections on drug-related and gang-related issues has a long-term impact on cross-border, state-level, and community security. The MDPD is one of the largest police departments in the southeastern United States, with a staff of approximately 4,700 employees. MDPSTI will offer four additional State Department supported training courses to a total of 74 BLTS officers over the course of the calendar year.

By Mélanie Malenfant
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106 women police officers from Bangladesh are working in Haiti at ensuring the safety of Pétionville IDP camp in the Haitian capital, where they are patrolling alongside with officers of the National Police “One of the advantages of being a woman is that when we are on duty in the IDP camps, children and females find us more approachable when it comes to reporting incidents and complaint”, says the commander Shahina Amin, head of the contingent BANFPU-2. For her, being a female in the mission can be a mixed experience, both challenging and rewarding. “We are neck and neck with other contingents and other units as far as professionalism and dedication. And there is no difference in the type of duty we perform,”she explains.“It’s not easy, but if I did not enjoy my work, I would not be here. Our presence is good exposure for other women, so they might be encouraged to contribute their skills to the UN”, she adds. Mother of two children, Commander Amin is also proud that one of her daughters has recently presented her work with the United Nations in a project for school. “The hardest part is being away from home”, she says, noting that travel to Bangladesh takes two days and a 30-hour flight. “This is why the support of my husband is vital”, she says. « He takes care of the children and it is a great sacrifice. »
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Superintendent of Police in her own country, she worked in 2009 in another United Nations Mission, in Kosovo (UNMIK),with the special police unit of her contingent. Here in Haiti, in addition to patrolling the IDP camp, the Bangladeshi police also deal with medical emergencies. In their headquarters, near Camp Delta, they maintain small gardens of flowers and vegetables. “These gardens make the unit ‘more green’ and more independent,”says Commander Amin. Apart from the food, equipment and supplies come from Bangladesh, from carpets and curtains to weapons and generators. A prime example of gender mainstreaming, the unit, composed of 106 operational women, also benefits from the support of 54 men, cooks and drivers. Bangladesh has deployed several contingents in UN missions across the world, in Sudan, Darfur and Côte d’Ivoire. It also provides two of the three female-only police units currently operating, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The third is a unit from India, deployed in Liberia.

UN News Service
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Haiti must focus on strengthening its rule of law institutions, including its national police and electoral council, to consolidate the gains it has achieved in recent years, the United Nations Security Council heard today as it reviewed developments in the Caribbean country. “The political process in Haiti remains vulnerable to setbacks linked to political instability, lack of respect for the rule of law and unmet social grievances,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted in his latest report, which was presented to the Council today by his Special Representative for Haiti, Mariano Fernández Amunátegui. “In this context, I urge the new Government to do its utmost to continue to strengthen the country’s rule of law institutions and to redouble its efforts to combat unemployment and poverty,” the UN chief added in his report, which also recommends an extension of the mandate of the peacekeeping force there, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
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Mr. Ban also praised efforts by Haiti’s new Government, headed by President Michel Martelly, to combat corruption and smuggling, create jobs, attract foreign investment and improve socioeconomic conditions for Haitians. However, he underscored that much remains to be done to address other pressing issues, such as extreme poverty and insecurity. In particular, the Secretary-General noted that the strengthening of the Haitian National Police is a main priority for MINUSTAH as this will help to consolidate the rule of law and security conditions in the country. In addition, it would pave the way for the Mission’s eventual withdrawal from Haiti. “We can classify the security situation as stable but with the fragility appropriate to a society going through a stabilization process, with precarious socio-economic indicators and with extreme poverty affecting important sectors of the country,” Mr. Fernandez said in his briefing to the Council, adding that politically-related violence had, for all practical purposes, ended. The Special Representative, who also heads MINUSTAH, outlined a consolidation plan that has been created in conjunction with the Haitian Government to reconfigure and gradually reduce the Mission’s military presence and give a stronger security role to national police forces.
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Mr. Fernandez also pointed to the importance of establishing a Permanent Electoral Council, adding that MINUSTAH and the international community are currently working to facilitate a dialogue to set up a legitimate Council that will then lead to elections of members of the Senate, mayors and municipal officials. The process for these elections has been at an impasse since May. The UN envoy told the Council that the cholera epidemic which has affected the country since late 2010, remains a serious challenge, with new cases still being reported continuously, many having fatal consequences. “The epidemic affects the entire island and we are working on a plan to intensify prevention, advance the fight against the disease and carry out all necessary measures to mitigate its effects,” he noted. MINUSTAH has been mobilizing its logistical resources to assist in the effort to contain the epidemic.
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MINUSTAH, Mr. Fernandez said, is working to improve the country’s education and infrastructure, promote peaceful coexistence in communities and reduce violence. “After eight years of MINUSTAH’s work in Haiti, the achievements are evident. However, to continue making progress, we must boost efforts of State consolidation that allow the harmonization of the peace dividends obtained until now,” noted the Special Representative. He added, “Finding paths that facilitate dialogue and consensus among Haitians is an essential factor to build a country that can stand on its own, with democratic institutions that can respond to numerous challenges today and in the future.” The Security Council established MINUSTAH in June 2004. In addition to helping support Haiti’s authorities with recovery efforts in the wake of massive earthquake which struck in January 2010, and following the completion of presidential elections in 2011, the Mission has been working to fulfil its original mandate to restore a secure and stable environment, to promote the political process, to strengthen Haiti’s Government institutions and rule-of-law-structures, as well as to promote and to protect human rights.
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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ambassador Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala, which holds the Council presidency for this month, said there was unanimity among Council members regarding the need for an extension of MINUSTAH – whose mandate expires on 15 October – for another year. There was also unanimity on the recommendations of the Secretary-General “to move away from peacekeeping in the area of troops towards strengthening the police force in Haiti,” he added, noting that Council members also recognized important progress domestically, in terms of the formation of a new government, “which seems to be working in a very coherent manner.”

UN Security Council delegations and staff are meeting next week to continue fashioning a long-term exit strategy for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), even as political discord is shaking the earthquake-prone island once again. Early departure of the UN mission would leave a security vacuum ripe for exploitation by armed gangs, but it is unclear how long the Haitian public, donors, and troop-contributing countries will put up with its continued presence. Any exit strategy has to be built on Haiti doubling the size of its police, ending impunity in its courts, and forging the rule of law as a foundation for economic growth and political stability. MINUSTAH was formed in 2004 to keep a polarized Haiti from violent implosion, and then shared in the tragic loss of life during the country’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake. It has been blamed for a cholera epidemic that has caused more than 7,000 deaths and sickened 500,000, and some of its troops are accused of sexual abuses. Its massive presence after eight years has irritated a proud nation.
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Nevertheless, when I recently met with government and business leaders and their adversaries, everyone acknowledged one simple fact: Haiti’s limited police force – in numbers and capacity – cannot protect its citizens without UN backing. Until Haiti builds a stronger, more capable law-enforcement structure – and one hopefully is in the making – the resulting vacuum would almost inevitably lead to spoilers seeking to secure their goals through gun barrels rather than ballot boxes. The logical time for the peacekeeping mission in its current form to end is the transfer of the presidential sash in 2016 by President Michel Martelly to his successor, following a free and fair election. That day is still a long way off, and much has to take place to get there.
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The UN Security Council should gradually reduce the size of its military-dominated mission to one with a larger contingent of more robust and competent police. That force still would ideally be led by Brazil and the same Latin American countries that comprise a majority of MINUSTAH military troop forces now. The new mandate also should underscore MINUSTAH’s recognition of the need to help Haiti respond to the ongoing cholera threat with vaccinations in remote areas and a major commitment to water and sanitation infrastructure. The UN also should do more to ensure better vetting, orienting, and training of future peacekeeping contingents. And it must work to ensure that those who violate the norms are held fully accountable.
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Perhaps as important for the peacekeeping mission as more police is continued political leadership at the top. The political engagement of the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) in Haiti, former Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernández, has been crucial during the past year in helping to partner with the new Haitian government on critical decisions. However, his term has already been extended once to December, and he either needs to be convinced to stay on or an equally engaged successor needs to be quickly found.
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Instead of two steps forward and one step back, Haitian politicians have been prone to move one step forward and two steps back. After finally putting a government in place, they now are embroiled in a battle to obtain the full nine members of a permanent electoral council and create an electoral calendar. Haiti is already months overdue in filling empty Senate seats, one-third of which remain vacant, and all of its city and town councils. Similarly, just weeks after the superior judiciary council was formed, after five years of struggling to be born, two of its nine members have already resigned, and the vital baby of justice reform could once again be thrown out with the political bathwater. The SRSG and friends of Haiti – including the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the Canadian, Latin American, and French foreign ministers – need to press for a national accord to preclude these self-destructive impulses. That accord must go beyond the positive but fragile coalition of parliamentarians that President Martelly just announced.
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A new mandate must also give the SRSG the internal political clout to direct the work of the entire UN country team to focus on Haiti’s areas of greatest vulnerability, in support of the country’s development priorities. By getting a MINUSTAH focused on justice and security and a country team focused on development to operate in harmony, the UN presence in Haiti can recapture its rightful place as the respected partner to Haitian progress. At the same time, Haiti must put basic governance building blocks in place to convince domestic and foreign investors to put their money into expanding jobs and opportunities across the country. If that happens, the moment for a peacekeeping exit will have finally come.
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Mark Schneider is the senior vice president of the International Crisis Group and former head of the Peace Corps during the Clinton administration.

I have been in Haiti for 9 years in a row. The United Nations force knows how to watch CNN and play soccer. They are useless. When they leave, the Haitian "police force" will be their corrupt selves. But maybe it is better to be abused by your own people than a bunch of no good "soldiers" sent by the UN. After all the Nepal soldiers gave Haiti Cholera. The UN should have been tried for intentional murder. May God bless and save Haiti from the UN and herself. The people of Haiti are loveable and giving.

A new report advises against the swift departure of a United Nations mission in Haiti despite debate over the peacekeeping force's eight-year presence. The International Crisis Group's study released Thursday noted that discussion about the U.N. peacekeepers' eventual withdrawal has intensified under President Michel Martelly. During his presidential campaign, Martelly had expressed interest in the force's early departure. But the Group said the troops shouldn't be forced to leave too soon. It also said the mission should change its focus from peacekeeping to a more political role by reducing the number of troops and creating new priorities, including a focus on development.
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"Any abrupt removal of the mission will create a security vacuum and encourage organized crime and violence," the study said. "There is no transition or exit strategy as yet." The peacekeeping force known by its French acronym as Minustah was established in 2004 after a politically tumultuous period marked by the ouster of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Many Aristide supporters and others have criticized the U.N. peacekeepers, calling them an occupying force and pointing to their role in several abuse scandals. But others have praised the mission for ensuring two democratic transfers of power and providing stability in the country of about 10 million people. The report recommended that the U.N. mission apologize for its likely introduction of a cholera outbreak that surfaced several months after the devastating January 2010 earthquake, and to move quickly to stem the spread of the disease. Cholera has sickened more than half a million Haitians, killing more than 7,000, and souring relations between the mission and the Haitian people.
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The non-profit group also advised the Haitian government to put off efforts to re-establish the army until a national consensus has been obtained. As a candidate, Martelly said he hoped to revive Haiti's armed forces, but that idea has been met with opposition since he became president, with some diplomats saying that money should be invested instead in the country's understaffed national police force. Former Haitian soldiers and their younger supporters, hopeful about the possible return of the army, seized several former military barracks and other public facilities earlier this year. Police and the U.N. closed the de facto military bases in May.

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