Moïse had also hollowed out the country’s political institutions, refusing to allow parliamentary elections and appointing surrogates to local posts. COVID-19 was raging, having caused over 600 fatalities (likely a vast underestimate), including the death of the head of the Supreme Court in June, while the first vaccines arrived only in July. Rape and sexual violence were common in these centres. At least 15,000 people had been internally displaced, and many found themselves in overcrowded community centres that humanitarian agencies found hard to reach because criminals controlled the vicinity. Fuel could not be unloaded from tankers because of security concerns shortages were increasing and more than half the nation’s population subsisted on less than $2 per day. The entire southern half of Haiti was cut off from the rest due to gang roadblocks. As of June 2021, more than 90 armed gangs operated throughout the country and controlled over half the capital Port-au-Prince, according to the UN. Leading donors and the UN should take the cues of local political and civil society leaders as to when fresh elections should be held, and work with a broad-based coalition on recovery efforts in the wake of the earthquake and the ensuing tropical storm.Ī snapshot of Haiti in the weeks prior to Moïse’s assassination reveals a country in deep distress. It is essential that Haiti accept foreign support to investigate high-profile crimes and set in motion long overdue economic and security reforms. They will need outside help to pull through. Although the killing’s aftermath has brought numerous arrests and promises of inclusive government from the country’s acting leadership, interim authorities face manifest threats of worsening political volatility and humanitarian crisis. These groups extended their sway as Moïse’s opponents contested his authority in an increasingly heated political climate. Violence, largely perpetrated by criminal groups funded by powerful business leaders, politicians and drug dealers, had shut down much of the economy. International backing for prosecuting high-level crimes, police reform and support for a broad-based representative and inclusive interim government stand a better chance than a rush to elections of helping restore stability.Įven before hit men assassinated President Jovenel Moïse in July and an enormous earthquake struck in August, Haiti was in a harrowing state of insecurity. What should be done? Funnelling aid to vulnerable people hit by recent natural disasters, preferably through local civil society, is the imperative. Growing insecurity is also driving instability and increased migrant flows within and outside the country. Why does it matter? Coming amid intersecting political, human rights, economic and humanitarian crises, Moïse’s killing and other recent events have exposed the chronic failings of state authorities and difficulties in ensuring that foreign support is deployed effectively. What’s new? The assassination in July of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, perpetrated with no apparent resistance from his elite security detail, and a bout of natural disasters weeks later have further destabilised an already fragile Haiti and intensified its humanitarian crisis at a time of extreme insecurity.
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