case study Haiti - United Nations Development Programme

28 April 1995 Aristide abolishes the National Army
1996-2000 As Aristide is not eligible for a second consecutive term, René Préval, a close
associate, is elected President
29 November 2000 Aristide is elected President in an election marked by fraud and extremely low
participation. Economic sanctions are imposed on Haiti
29 February 2004 Aristide is forced to resign and to go into exile. The Security Council authorizes
the deployment of a Multinational Interim Force to be followed by a United
Nations Mission (MINUSTAH)
17 March 2004 A Government of Transition is formed under Prime Minister Gerard Latortue
16 February 2006 René Préval is declared President-elect following elections held on 7 February.
Haiti’s crisis has affected the livelihood of most Haitians and has taken a heavy toll on
their human security. There are several underlying causes and phenomena behind the crisis,
and the four major ones are detailed below.
1.1 A culture of violence
The Duvaliers ruled Haiti for nearly 30 years, and their rule was marked by a widespread
culture of violence. The infamous Tontons Macoutes, Duvalier’s private militia 4 , established
a regime of terror beyond the imagination of most people: they had a free hand in arresting,
detaining, torturing and killing whoever was considered to be an opponent of the regime, or
whose wealth members of the ruling class coveted. Thousands were killed or had to flee the
country for their lives. Violence became a means of achieving and preserving absolute
political power.
Outbursts of violence and a round of bloody military coups followed the departure of
Jean-Claude Duvalier in February 1986 and lasted until the elections that brought Jean-
Bertrand Aristide to power in December 1990. Aristide, a former priest, carried the hopes of
the poor masses of Haiti. But in less than a year, a military coup led by General Cedras chased
Aristide into exile. This coup was one of the bloodiest in the troubled history of Haiti: some
1,500 people died, 40,000 fled the country and 200,000 to 300,000 left the capital for the safer
countryside.
The international community imposed an embargo and violent demonstrations rocked
the country. International pressure and a United States-led military intervention finally
brought Aristide back to Haiti on 15 October 1994, to complete his term as President.
Although not eligible for a second term in office according to the Constitution, Aristide
continued to pull many strings when he was replaced as President by René Préval, a close
associate. In 2000, in a Presidential election marked by massive fraud and a participation of
only 10 percent of the registered voters, Aristide was declared the winner with 91.6 percent of
the votes and returned as President.
Although the Duvaliers had gone, ‘Duvalierism’ lived on during the Aristide years.
Violence, human rights abuses and corruption continued unabated and remained a means of
preserving power and accessing wealth. Duvalier’s Tontons Macoutes were replaced by other
armed groups, some of which continue to threaten security to this day. Violence coupled with
impunity has characterized the Haitian political scene for most of the past 50 years.
4 The Tontons Macoutes, literally the bogeymen in Créole, were created by François Duvalier in 1959, following
an attempted coup. In 1971, his son officially re-named the para-military group as Milice Volontaire de la
Sécurité Nationale.