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Canada must address lack of legitimate authority in Haiti

News Release

Montreal - September 28, 2004 ? Canada must play its part in the establishment of legitimate authority in Haiti, where emergency relief in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne has once again laid bare the almost total lack of governance, says Rights & Democracy.

In Gonaives, distribution of aid in the city is in chaos and the lack of legitimate authority is preventing fair access to aid for the local population. As Pierre Pettigrew, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, begins a tour of the devastation in Haiti, Rights & Democracy believes a firm commitment from Canada to help restore order in Gonaives, and throughout Haiti, must follow.

"The Canadian government should exert pressure on the Haitian government," said Jean Louis Roy, President of Rights & Democracy. "Emergency relief must be distributed by reliable authorities, and the distribution must be fair and without conditions, and it must be protected by security forces."

Governance remains a major challenge. Entire regions of Haitian territory are not under the control of the central government, but fall under the ever tighter grip of former soldiers and the Front for Advancement and Progress in Haiti, or FRAPH, a paramilitary organization formed during the military regime that controlled Haiti between 1991 - 1994.

This lack of legitimate government outside the capital is a source of instability and arbitrary power. It leaves citizens with no way out and no legal protection.

This lawless environment must be met with a determined program of disarmament of Haiti's numerous factions and a steady fight against impunity. Both are crucial to restoring the security and stability needed for the political, economic and social reconstruction of the country.

On Sept. 10th, the United Nations' Security Council said a national program that includes the necessary structures and the required legal framework (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) is the only one likely to produce lasting results.

Canada can help this process by sending a clear message to the Haitian government that impunity, a vitiated judicial system and unlawful armed gangs cannot co-exist with equitable development and respect for human rights.

Rights & Democracy also has a part to play, by supporting sectors of civil society in playing an active and constructive role in reestablishing and developing democracy in Haiti.