More work needs to be done to bolster support for Haiti's police force as gang violence continues to rock Haiti, said Bob Rae, Canada's Ambassador to the UN and the newly elected president of the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), who just returned from visiting Port-au-Prince.
"Haiti is still really, really struggling," Mr. Rae told UN News's Cristina Silveiro, highlighting meetings held with the Prime Minister, Transitional Council, authorities, aid organizations and Haitians themselves, who said security is their key priority.
He said the multinational security support mission operating in Haiti since June is making gains, including shifting the area of operation of some of the gang activity in the capital Port-au-Prince away from two key hospitals and the main port, but more progress is needed as it was impossible to say the country "had turned a corner".
The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Bob Rae: I got a chance to get out and see what's going on in Port-au-Prince. The displacement problem is huge. There are now about half a million people who have been displaced by the violence and by the gang activity.
I want to get people back into school, with the school year starting in October, but the problem is that many schools have been taken over by people who've been displaced. There's a practical problem as to how to solve this.
I wanted to see it for myself from a humanitarian point of view. Haiti is still really, really struggling. It was good to see people out in the street in a positive way, going to the market, doing things, selling things, talking to each other. This is possible now, but it is impossible to say that we have turned a corner. We haven't turned a corner yet, but we're making some progress.
UN News: What are Haitians calling for?
Bob Rae: The big issue for people has been security. They feel personally insecure. They don't feel safe. Their daughters could get raped crossing the street. They could get kidnapped for cash.
The gangs have taken over large parts of the city. They've burned out houses, taken over large neighborhoods, run parts of the city like a like a personal kingdom. They're brutal. These gang leaders are brutal. They kill people, and many thousands have died.
Many more have been displaced. So, the security issue is key. The other key element is hope based on seeing a way forward, seeing a path ahead. This is how things work out. We're not there yet. Those are the two things I think are key. It's going to take a lot of effort to get those two things working.
UN News: In the face of the dire security situation, the Security Council mandated a non-UN multinational security support mission be sent to help Haiti. Kenya took the lead and sent its first contingent over a month ago. They're the only ones to have done so among several countries who volunteered. Were you able to see them on the ground, and are they making an impact?
Bob Rae: I had a very good meeting with the mission's colonel with his group. Security conditions did not allow me to see a police operation, but I certainly had a sense that they were working effectively with the Haitian National Police, which is the key force that has to be reinforced and given the equipment required to go forward.
Parts of the airport is secure, and flights are coming in. The area of concentration of the gangs has been moved and shifted. A couple of the big hospitals have been able to be freed from gang control. The port is more open than it was.
Right now, they still haven't been able to secure the main highways in the country, and we need to move forward in Port-au-Prince. We also have to make sure that the rest of the country stays relatively secure. The security situation in the south is not as bad as it has been in in Port-au-Prince.
UN News: We're hearing that there is an impact. Do you know if the rest of the countries that have volunteered to join this mission are on their way? Can they be expected on the ground soon?
Bob Rae: There is still work to be done to make sure the force is big enough and effective enough to make the kind of progress that we need.
I think there is a number of things that have to be settled in terms of the protocols and engagement from a number of countries. We've got to make sure the medevac system is in place along with other elements.
As a country, Canada has been doing everything we can. We've been very involved in the training of a number of the police volunteers and the police forces that have volunteered to come forward.
With a UN mission, you know how it works, the logistics are there and the system is in place. Yes, they have to get the money and troops, but there is an infrastructure of activity in place. With the Haiti situation, I would compare it more to a potluck supper. Who's coming? What are they bringing for food? What are they bringing? And that doesn't necessarily guarantee that everything's covered.
You've got to make sure that there's an organization in place that's ensuring that in fact the force is able to do what it needs to. There have been some delays in supplying equipment and getting money into the trust fund, and those are now being resolved.
That's positive, but it's still taking too long. We need to catch up, and we don't have a big, huge window of opportunity. We have a bit of time in which we can get all this done before a potential election.
UN News: There are calls for a UN mission to be sent. Can you speak to those calls, and how likely it is that there would be a UN mission sent at this point?
Bob Rae: UN missions are determined by the Security Council and its five permanent members [China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States] have to agree, and that hasn't happened. Could that change? I don't know. Maybe it could.
Right now, the current situation is better than nothing, but it's not ideal. It's not as much as we need.
This arrangement is doing some good things, and so we need to keep pushing ahead on that. If the political discussions in New York take us in another direction, then that too is okay.
UN News: What are the next steps you see for Haiti?
Bob Rae: We're waiting for the Electoral Commission to be started up. That's going to be key.
There has to be a plan developed by the Government of Haiti on how to move forward with a development plan and economic and social plan. I had very good discussions with the Prime Minister about that.
I think there's a need for more progress on the security side, which needs to happen.
We need to be able to back up the efforts of the Haitian National Police more effectively, and the UN itself will continue these discussions.
We're going to have a lot of meetings over a high-level week on Haiti.
That's really what we're looking at. It's not perfect. It's certainly not the greatest, but it's a lot better than it was.
There's also enormous work to be done on continuing efforts to raise money for the humanitarian effort because there are so many displaced people and so many people without food and without the kind of food security that they need.
We need a development plan that's supported by the international financial institutions and by all the neighboring countries.
That's a tall order, but we think we know what we have to do.
