Haiti: US-UN Division of Labor Formalized
Last Friday, the United States and the United Nations formalized an agreement with respect to the division of labor among international forces in Haiti. Peacekeepers and police officers from the UN’s MINUSTAH mission, with assistance from the Haitian National Police, will remain in the lead in providing security and keeping order among the Haitian population as the international relief mission proceeds. American forces, meanwhile, will be responsible primarily for securing and repairing critical infrastructure and transport routes. The new security agreement reportedly reflects the terms of the communiqué signed by the U.S. and Haitian government last week.
As the mission in Haiti moves from rescue and emergency relief to recovery and reconstruction, the new security agreement provides some insight as to the scope and likely duration of the U.S. military’s role in the country. Given the extent of the devastation in the wake of the earthquake and the limited infrastructure that existed in Haiti in the first place, the process of repair and development will likely be a lengthy one. (See the SOUTHCOM slides below for engineering updates and an overview of key entry points). The restoration of the capital’s seaport is already underway-with the help of divers and engineers from the USNS Grasp salvage ship-but the effort is not expected to bear significant fruit until mid-February. Assessments by special operations forces of other smaller ports and airfields — like those at Les Cayes, Hinche, and Port Salut — will continue in the days ahead.
Even as the military tackles these tasks, it will no doubt find itself taking on others. Apart from the continuing distribution of aid and medical care, U.S. forces have been assisting in laying the groundwork for an employment program, for instance. And while MINUSTAH forces, under the command of Major General Floriano Peixoto of Brazil, remain ostensibly in the lead in maintaining security — and will soon be receiving reinforcements from Canada, Brazil, and elsewhere — their facilities and equipment were badly damaged in the quake, and there have been varying reports about the extent of their presence and visibility in Port au Prince within the last week. Likewise, the Haitian National Police force lost roughly half of its personnel in the capital. It’s not surprising, then, that the U.S.-UN security agreement allows for American intervention in security situations on the request of the Haitian government.
Tim Sullivan is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
