September 14, 2009
MICROCON

Abstract:

“Peacekeeping economies” have not been subject to much analysis of either their economic or socio-cultural and political impacts. This paper uses a gendered lens to explore some ramifications and lasting implications of peacekeeping economies, drawing on examples from four post-conflict countries with past or ongoing United Nations peacekeeping missions: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Liberia, and Haiti. The paper is particularly concerned with the interplay between the peacekeeping economy and the sex industry. It examines some of the characteristics and impacts of peacekeeping economies, arguing that these are highly gendered – but that the “normalization” of peacekeeping economies allows these effects to be overlooked or obscured. It also contends that these gendered characteristics and impacts have (or are likely have) broad and lasting consequences. Finally, the paper considers the initial impacts of UN efforts to tackle negative impacts of peacekeeping economies, particularly the zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and the effort to “mainstream” gender and promote gender equality in and through peacekeeping. The paper suggests that the existence and potential longterm perpetuation of a highly gendered peacekeeping economy threatens to undermine the gender goals and objectives that are a component of most peace operations....

August 19, 2009
David Lake // Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

Abstract:

This project argues that the current model of state-building is deeply flawed and that an alternative model may work better. It hews to a middle ground between the critics: successful state-building may be possible, but only if the international community adopts a different framework. Key to successful state-building, I argue, is restoring the legitimacy of the state’s monopoly of violence. The current model implicitly rests on a formal-legal conception of legitimacy in which law or institutions confer authority on officials, who then employ that authority to create a social order. But a formal-legal approach, however well suited to established states governed by a rule of law, is inappropriate in the anarchy of a failed state. Precisely because the prior regime has lost its legitimacy, there is no accepted legal or institutional framework that can confer authority on a nascent government, no matter how democratic. I develop an alternative, relational conception of legitimacy drawn from social contract theories of the state.2 In this approach, authority derives from a mutually-beneficial contract in which the ruler provides a social order of benefit to the ruled, and the ruled in turn comply with the extractions (e.g., taxes) and constraints on their behavior (e.g., law) that are necessary to the production of that order. The contract becomes self-enforcing – or legitimate – when individuals and groups become “vested” in that social order by undertaking investments specific to the particular contract. In this way, legitimacy follows from social order, not the other way around as in the current model. This implies that providing security, protecting property rights, and adjudicating disputes within society should be the first step in any state-building process. This paper proceeds in five principal sections. The first examines the concepts of state failure and state-building, arguing for a new focus on rebuilding state legitimacy. Section II probes and criticizes the intellectual foundations of the current model and practice of state-building. I then develop an alternative analytic foundation and model that rests of a relational conception of authority in Section III. I develop the role of international trustees in the state-building process and examine further the tensions identified above in Section IV. The final section examines the case of Somalia. Other cases are planned for future research....

May 4, 2009
Centre for International Governance Innovation // Security Sector Reform Monitor

Abstract:

Since the end of the Duvalier era in 1986, Haiti has been engaged in a lengthy and arduous political transition. The last ruler of the Duvalier dynasty, Jean-Claude Duvalier, fled the country amid an economic and political crisis spurred by a crippling recession and a massive popular movement demanding democratic change. A new constitution in 1987 launched the transition process and affirmed the Haitian state’s commitment to liberal, representative and participatory democracy. The National Governing Council (CNG) was tasked with forging new national institutions and establishing a decentralized state apparatus favouring self-governance at the local level. However, the political turmoil that became the norm in the two decades that followed the promulgation of the constitution, marked by numerous coups and counter coups, dampened popular enthusiasm and optimism for reform. Seventeen different governments ruled Haiti between 1987 and 2009, a testament to the fragility and volatility of the Haitian polity. When the new constitution came into effect in 1987, the Haitian security and justice sector was weak and fractured. The army was intent on playing an internal policing role, the judicial system was corrupt and ineffective, and the local and national governance institutions were incapable of asserting democratic civilian control of the sector. This adverse situation, coupled with the emergence of a widereaching popular movement for change, paved the way for the election of a charismatic leader with a progressive agenda in 1990. Although greeted with high hopes by many inside and outside Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s presidency was shortlived, ending nine months later at the hands of a military coup supported by the national elite. The coup leaders held on to power for three years but were never able to secure the recognition of the international community or gain broad domestic legitimacy. By 1994, they succumbed to domestic and international pressure to hand power back to Aristide, who returned to Haiti escorted by the American military....

March 26, 2008
Annual Convention of the International Studies Association

Abstract:

Resilience refers to the ability to rebound, maintain or strengthen functioning during and after a disturbance; to cope successfully in the face of extreme adversity or risk. In many cases where the term ´resilience´ is used, it is applied as a simple descriptor without analysis of why particular systems are resilient even when, by most accounts, they should not be. This paper provides (1) A framework for conceptualizing resilience with regard to vulnerable, fragile, and conflict prone states (in other words, what IS resilience and why is it relevant?) and (2) A small collection of case studies including Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Guinea and others which highlight particular adaptive strategies. The key argument of this research is that the nature of development strategies in such environments must tend towards enhancing the capacity of local communities to self organize, by prioritizing experimentation and local ownership over project designs and outcomes....

December 19, 2007
European Conference on International Relations

Abstract:

The article attempts to briefly analyze state-building theories and methods, as applied to justice system reform in post-conflict scenarios. In this respect, the international authorities involved in the reconstruction process may traditionally chose between either a 'dirigiste' or a consent-based approach, which represent the essential terms of reference for past interventions. However, features common to most reconstruction missions and relatively poor results confirm the need for change in the overall strategy. This requires the international donors to focus more on the 'demand for justice' at local level than on the traditional supply of legal aid. In this respect, the articles stresses the need for effectively promoting the 'local ownership' of the reform process, without this expression being merely used by international actors as a political umbrella under which to protect themselves from potential failures....

December 1, 2010
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Nine actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and one improved in November 2010, according to the latest issue of the International Crisis Group’s monthly bulletin CrisisWatch released today. Tensions surged on the Korean peninsula as two South Korean civilians and two marines were killed when North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells at Yeonpyeong Island, where South Korea was conducting military drills. Haiti ’s late month presidential elections ended in confusion, as several opposition candidates called for the vote to be annulled amid reports of fraud, and thousands of people took to the streets in protest. International observers from the OAS called the vote valid despite “serious irregularities”, but tensions remain high. Ivory Coast saw deadly pre-election clashes on the streets of the capital Abidjan between rival supporters of the two presidential candidates, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara. The tightly contested 28 November run-off and delays in announcing the preliminary results has led to heightened tensions between the two camps and fears of further violence. In Guinea, preliminary results declaring opposition leader Alpha Condé winner of the 7 November second round presidential election sparked three days of violence resulting in at least four deaths and dozens injured. CrisisWatch also noted deteriorated situations in Burundi, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Egypt and Western Sahara. In Niger, the situation improved as results from the 31 October referendum showed 90 per cent of voters in favour of the new constitution, paving the way for January 2011 elections and a return to civilian rule. Once again this month CrisisWatch describes violence against civilians in North and South Kivu provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo....

September 8, 2006
Special Program on the Implementation of Targeted Sanctions

Abstract:

Factsheet on sanctions regimes which have been terminated. The list includes Angola, Cambodia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Haiti, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Sudan and Libya.

July 31, 2006
United States Agency for International Development

Abstract:

An outline of USAID's programs in Haiti for the fiscal year of 2006.

February 6, 2006
Reuters AlertNet

Abstract:

Decades of violence, dictatorship and coups have left Haiti the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Haitians will pick a new leader on Feb. 7 in their first election since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in 2004 amid an armed rebellion.

February 3, 2006
United Nations // Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Abstract:

Under Article 41 of the UN Charter, the Security Council may call upon Member States to apply measures not involving the use of armed force in order to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures are commonly referred to as sanctions. The Security Council has invoked Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter to impose sanctions in sixteen cases: Afghanistan, Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Sudan and the former Yugoslavia. ...

February 3, 2006
United Nations // Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

Abstract:

Under Article 41 of the UN Charter, the Security Council may call upon Member States to apply measures not involving the use of armed force in order to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures are commonly referred to as sanctions. The Security Council has invoked Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter to impose sanctions in sixteen cases: Afghanistan, Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Sudan and the former Yugoslavia. In the cases of Angola, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia and the former Yugoslavia, sanctions have been fully lifted. In the case of Iraq, sanctions have been lifted, with the exception of some prohibitions related to the sale or supply to Iraq of arms and related materiel. In the case of Sudan, sanctions were lifted, but some new sanctions measures were approved in 2005. Sanctions against Afghanistan have been fully lifted, but other measur#es in Resolution 1267 (1999) that apply to al-Qaeda and the Taliban remain in effect....

January 4, 2011
Foreign Policy Magazine // International Crisis Group

Abstract:

Across the globe today, you'll find almost three dozen raging conflicts, from the valleys of Afghanistan to the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the streets of Kashmir. But what are the next crises that might erupt in 2011? Here are a few worrisome spots that make our list. [Captions provided by International Crisis Group]

June 15, 2007
United Nations Human Rights Council

Abstract:

The Human Rights Council took up the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Haiti and Somalia this afternoon, hearing repeated calls for an end to country specific Special Procedures, but also support for the Independent Expert on the situation in Haiti.

February 8, 2007
Pambazuka News

Abstract:

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has been blatant in its support of rightwing forces, including the Haitian police, and has been systematic in carrying out human rights abuses against the poor people of Haiti, supporters of Aristide and his Lavalas party.

December 11, 2004
Canadian Press

Abstract:

Canada will play a key role in rebuilding Haiti's judicial system, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Saturday (December 11) at a conference on the future of the Caribbean country. Canada will be involved in everything from training magistrates and judges to reconstructing court houses, he said. "Military security is only part of the answer," the prime minister said.

June 30, 2011
International Crisis Group

Abstract:

A year and a half after the Western Hemisphere’s deadliest earthquake devastated Haiti, 650,000 victims still wait for permanent housing in more than 1,000 unstable emergency camps dotting Port-au-Prince. The first storms of the 2011 hurricane season have flooded 30 camps, forcing tent dwellers to flee and killing 28 persons nationally. Michel Martelly, who replaced René Préval as president on 14 May, faces an immediate crisis in the growing frustrations of the victims in the camps and those with near identical unmet basic needs who remain in the urban slums. Forced evictions, some violent, along with the reappearance of criminal gangs in those camps and slums, add to the volatile mix. Adopting, communicating and setting in motion a comprehensive resettlement strategy, with full input from the victims and local communities, is the first critical reconstruction challenge he must meet in order to restore stability. It will also test the capacity for common international action beyond emergency relief after a year of disturbing divisions within the UN country team and among donors over resettlement strategy....

May 18, 2011
United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations // Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict

Abstract:

Child Protection in United Nations Peacekeeping: Volume I is the first in a series illustrating the challenges and successes of protecting children in some of the most dangerous places on earth. In the following pages you will learn about the work of Dee, Svjetlana, James and Julie—peacekeepers and child protection advisers who rely on their diverse individual experience at home and in the field to introduce the relatively new concept of child protection to missions in distinct conflict and post-conflict situations. The creation of this publication was initiated by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day when the two United Nations officials reaffirmed their commitment to protect innocent girls and boys faced with the brutality of war....

April 19, 2011
Congressional Research Service

Abstract:

In proximity to the United States, and with such a chronically unstable political environment and fragile economy, Haiti has been a constant policy issue for the United States. Congress views the stability of the nation with great concern and commitment to improving conditions there. Both Congress and the international community have invested significant resources in the political, economic, and social development of Haiti, and will be closely monitoring the election process as a prelude to the next steps in Haiti's development.

This report provides an overview of the controversies surrounding the first round of voting in late 2010, and concerns related to the second and final round of the elections. In addition to ongoing issues regarding the legitimacy of the upcoming March 20 elections, other questions have raised concerns within the international community and Congress. These include the destabilizing presence of former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, and former President Jean- Bertrand Aristide, and the newly elected government's ability to handle the complex post-earthquake reconstruction process and its relationship with the donor community....

April 18, 2011
Human Rights Watch

Abstract:

On January 16, 2011, former president-for-life of Haiti, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, returned to his homeland after nearly 25 years in exile. The government of Haiti responded by re-opening a 2008 investigation into alleged financial crimes, and several victims of serious human rights violations under the Duvalier government also came forward and filed complaints with the prosecutor. The investigation into Duvalier’s alleged financial and human rights crimes is currently underway.

This report provides an overview of human rights violations under Duvalier, details the current status of the proceedings against him, including obstacles to a successful prosecution, and analyzes applicable Haitian and international law. We conclude that investigation and prosecution of the grave violations of human rights under Duvalier’s rule is required by Haiti’s obligations under international law. While there are still obstacles to overcome, the case presents an historic opportunity for Haiti....

November 5, 2010
Center for Human Rights and International Justice // Boston College

Abstract:

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about natural disasters and human rights with a particular focus on international responses to Haiti and Pakistan. I’d like to begin with 4 general statements about natural disasters and human rights, then give a brief overview comparing the response to the two disasters but spend most of my time talking about some of the larger issues – ethical issues if you will – raised by the comparison between these two responses. General comments: 1. Disasters aren’t so natural. I’m using the term natural disasters as a sort of short-hand for the more accurate but more awkward phrase ‘disasters resulting from natural hazards.’ In reality, disasters are almost always the result of both natural phenomena and human action. For example, mudslides increase in Nepal as a result of both glacier runoff (a natural cause) and deforestation (a man-made cause). We could take this a step further and ask to what extent was the breaching of the levees in New Orleans the result of Hurricane Katrina or the failure of US authorities to take preventive actions to protect its citizens? 2. There have always been natural disasters of course, but they are increasing in severity and intensity as a result of climate change. And yet the reality is that the international humanitarian system is not prepared to cope with more than one large-scale disaster a year. 3. Disasters always hurt the poor and marginalized more than others. The poor tend to live in less sturdy housing and on marginal land. Similarly while disasters in developed countries tend to have high economic costs, they generally result in lower casualties than those taking place in developing societies. For example, in August 2010, New Zealand had an earthquake measuring over 7.0 on the Richter scale which destroyed 100,000 homes. No one was killed. Recovery is faster in wealthier countries. Access to assistance is often more readily available and the delivery of that assistance is easier with paved roads and multiple communication networks. The spread of disease is less likely when medicine is on hand, sanitation can be addressed, and functioning hospitals are nearby. 4. Assistance is not neutral. In fact, sometimes the response itself can exacerbate inequities. The way in which a government responds to natural disasters is often politically motivated and almost always has political consequences. If aid is not distributed in an impartial fashion, ethnic, class or religious resentments and conflicts can intensify....