Police

The U.N has a long history of surging and retracting in Haiti.  The new UN backed international force has received pledges of more than 5,500 soldiers and police with Chadians already in Port-au-Prince to replace the Kenyans.  While pledges don't always turn into commitments, this is at least a positive sign that numerous countries are willing to provide human or financial resources to help re-establish security.  Elections, recovery, and longer-term development all depend on it.  Deployments of new staff will reportedly continue from fall until the end of the year.  Given how long Haitians have suffered, this is welcome news.  The full AP article is linked and below. 

Linked and copied below is a BBC article about yet another effort by the Haitian government to re-create a military force. The reasons given are job creation, disaster response, and border patrol.  Costa Rica also does not have a military and is able to patrol its borders and respond to disasters through civilian institutions.  In addition, Costa Rica creates jobs by encouraging investment.  Given the sordid history of the Haitian military, donors would much prefer that Haiti continues to focus on strengthening the national police force.  Recreating the military could very well result in more instability and uncertainty - as was the case in the past. 

Below is a recent report by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on the state of the Haitian justice system.  Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was making slow but much needed progress on improving access to justice.  The Haitian government is not starting from scratch but now has the added challenge of rebuilding courts, prisons, and police stations while continuing reform efforts.  Promoting a society that understands and values human rights and government that can monitor and enforce them is essential for Haiti's long term development.