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French President Emmanuel Macron recently visited the French prison where revolutionary leader, Touissant Louverture died, having been kidnapped during what were supposed to be negotiations.  Louverture had wanted equal rights for Haitians which the French would not accept. Jean-Jacques Dessalines subsequently determined the French could not be trusted and must be defeated militarily, which they were.   This is the first time a French leader has paid tribute to Louverture.  It is just the first step on what would be a long road to reconciliation and justice.   The full New York Times article follows. 

As the situation further deteriorates in Haiti, new UN appointees are being cycled in. María Isabel Salvador last month became the new UN Special Representative for Haiti and the head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).  She will play a role in short and longer term solutions that may be negotiated with the Haitian government, other governments, and regional organisations.  The Haitian government clearly cannot restore security on its own.  The full article by Miami Herald journalist Jacqueline Charles is linked and follows. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has appointed William O’Neill as an independent expert on human rights in Haiti   He will monitor the human-rights situation in Haiti and provide advice and technical assistance to the Haitian government, national human rights institutions and civil society organisations.  Promoting respect for human rights should be an important aspect of re-establishing security, and one hopes, longer term development in Haiti.  The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald is linked and follows. 

The United Nations emphasizes that Haiti is in a dire situation and now is not the time to deport Haitians. The majority of deportations take place from the Dominican Republic with neither due process nor advance notice to the Haitian authorities responsible for receiving them. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports 154,333 Haitians were expelled by the Dominican Republic last year - about 87% of all deportations to Haiti in 2022.  It is true that insecurity in Haiti affect the Dominican Republic as well - but conducting mass deportations only makes a bad situation worse - politically, economically, and for human rights. The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows. 

In Haiti, Gang violence continues unchecked. Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, which serves more than 700,000 people in the Artibonite Valley and Central Plateau regions, has suspended operations for all but emergency cases. In Port-au-Prince, gangs are taking control of more neighborhoods and operating with total impunity.  Residents of Cite Soleil are essentially captive – unable to access food, medical care, and other essential services.  A New Humanitarian article about the worsening situation in Cite-Soleil by Evens Mary and Paula Depraz-Dobias follows. 

The Dominican Republic (DR) is again rounding up thousands of Haitian migrants, as well as people who just look Haitian, and deporting them.  The DR has drawn criticism for sending unaccompanied children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable people to a country that is in political and economic turmoil.  More than 20,000 people, Haitian and otherwise, have been deported in a day period this month alone.  As UNICEF put it, "These are not deportations.  It is persecution based on race.:" Even the United States has warned Americans with darker skin to stay away.  Deportees are placed at great risk, Haiti is further destabilised, and the DR again demonstrates its disregard for human rights. The full article by Al Jazeera follows. 

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a brief but stark warning about the threat posed to Haitian children by gang violence, cholera, and malnutrition.  The situation in Haiti is difficult, but especially so for children.  Emboldened gangs, a growing cholera epidemic, and worsening malnutrition are negatively impacting the well-being of Haitian children.  The government is weak, the gangs are in many cases better armed than the police, and core development issues like agriculture, education, infrastructure, and human rights have once again taken a back seat to insecurity.  Restoring security won't solve Haiti's problems but it is at least a prequisite.

Gang violence in Haiti's largest city continues to have a pervasive negative impact that reverberates throughout the country, affecting security, the economy, food security, education, and health care.  According to Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, dozens of people have been killed and more than a hundred injured in a new round of deadly violence  "aggravating fuel shortages, raising transportation costs and making an already troubling humanitarian crisis even worse."  Further, 20,000 residents of the densely populated slums have been displaced by gang violence since May.  A July 8 article about gang violence in Port au Prince is copied below and linked is an update by Charles.

A bit late in posting this, but in response to the recent New York Times series, a major French bank is hiring researchers to look into the history of its involvement in Haiti.  It is not straight-forward given mergers and the loss of almost all relevant documentation over the years, hence the need for outside expertise.  Haiti's history is one of exploitation by individual, institutions, and countries.  As the article by Matt Apuzzo points out, foreign banks have played a significant role in maintaining an ecosystem of exploitation.  This investigation is welcome and would not be happening without the NYT journalists and their reporting. 

Gangs in Port au Prince thrive when there is an absence of governance, no rule of law, and economic stagnation.  The UN has described current levels of gang violence as unprecedented and affecting all aspects of life - for example, 11 medical centers and 442 schools have closed.  National roads connecting Port-au-Prince to the rest of the country are dangerous, limiting the movement of people and goods.  While the security situation continues to deteriorate Haiti's developmental issues remain unaddressed - environmental degradation, lack of infrastructure and investment, poor basic services, and unrelenting brain drain.  Security is not enough to address these underlying problems but it is a prerequisite - and the gangs will not give up territory willingly. The full CNN article follows.