UN Troops In Haiti Accused of Sexual Assault
Video Of Incident May Make Charges Stick This Time
The incident is likely to pour more gasoline on the fire of resentment that Haitians have for the UN troops that have occupied their country for more than seven years. There has been a terrible pattern of abuses: in December 2007, more than 100 UN soldiers from Sri Lanka were deported under charges of sexual abuse of under-age girls. In 2005, UN troops invaded Cité Soleil, one of the poorest areas in Port-au-Prince, killing as many as 23 people, including children, according to witnesses. After the raid, the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders reported: “On that day we treated 27 people for gunshot wounds. Of them, around 20 were women under the age of 18.”
Wikileaks cables released in the last week reveal that Timothy Carney, representing the United States government as the top-ranking diplomat in Haiti in 2006, warned that such raids would “inevitably cause unintended civilian casualties given the crowded conditions and flimsy construction of tightly packed housing in Cité Soleil”. But Washington – showing its lack of respect for human life in Haiti – offered no objections to further raids, which continued into 2006.
And make no mistake about it: the UN occupation of Haiti is really a U.S. occupation – it is no more a multilateral force than George W. Bush’s “coalition of the willing” that invaded Iraq. And it is hardly more legitimate, either: it was sent there in 2004 after a U.S.-led effort toppled Haiti’s democratically elected government. Far from providing security for Haitians in the aftermath of the coup, MINUSTAH stood by while thousands of Haitians who had supported the elected government were killed, and officials of the constitutional government jailed. Recent Wikileaks cables also confirm that the U.S. government sees MINUSTAH as an instrument of its policy there.
This latest incident could shed some light on the nature of its mission, just as the photos from Abu Ghraib made plain for most of the world the brutality of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Images cannot be so easily dismissed or buried as words. And the images from this video are symbolic of what the “international community” has been doing to Haiti since the country won its independence from France in the world’s first successful slave-led revolution.
There is no legitimate reason for a military mission of the United Nations in Haiti. The country has no civil war, and is not the subject of a peace-keeping or post-conflict agreement. And the fact that UN troops are immune from prosecution or legal action in Haiti encourages abuses. The occupying troops don’t speak the language either, which severely limits their capacity for any positive security role; can you imagine how effective a Washington D.C. police force would be if it spoke only Japanese?
To make things even worse, it is now virtually certain that MINUSTAH brought the cholera bacteria to Haiti that has killed more than 6000 Haitians and infected more than 400,000 in the last 10 months. This was an act of gross negligence: there should have been supervision to make sure that fecal waste from UN troops was not dumped into the water supply, given the risks of such a deadly contamination and the known incapacity of Haiti’s water, sanitation, and public health system.
How long can MINUSTAH continue to occupy and abuse Haiti?
haiti-cuba-venezuela 
Moselaine Elan
September 8, 2011
The form of respect that countries show each other in this decade as in the past, concludes that each nation should be “assisted” without invasion, if possible, for within each country there is always a group of its own people trying to uplift their fellow citizens.
I would love to see unity and basic respect for life shown: between nations, between military and ordinary men towards little girls and women when an invasion of one nation to another occurs, but there is tremendous acts of violations that reveals that nations entering another and with military occupants full of men are to be looked upon for better structuring if that is to continue. The sexually frustration of some of these men are not a good match for humanitarian aid or which ever reason good or bad for an invasion. I had seen a documentary about how the “playboy” magazine was used to help soldiers, and I hope such attention or sexual aid is given to those who would or would not do harm without it.
The sexual issues of these soldiers also have to be taken into consideration before they are deployed to any nation. I am all for humanity and the army, navy….military security, if that is the goal, for this nation as well as others, but within doing tremendous good some of these guys that rapes and violates human rights brings back the misery their presence is suppose to withdraw. I find that deeply horrific, and disgusting. The stories that hurts the most is about the rapes of little girls from various men who gets them pregnant for no mother struggles for 9 months to gives life to their child to have a realistic fear or to deal with high probability that such a child will or have experienced that form of human disrespect and brutality.
magbana
September 9, 2011
You are so right that what’s happening in Haiti is a shame. There have been many abuses by UN soldiers in Haiti since they arrived in 2004. Through the UN Security Council, the US and France cooked up this “peacekeeping” mission to operate as a proxy army for the US. The purpose was to keep a lid on the US’ coup against Aristide because the coup had NO public support. Seven years later and they are still there.
Another important aspect in the sexual abuse is race. The majority of the “peacekeepers” are from Latin American countries. Latin America is the most racist region in the world. Discrimination against Black and indigenous peoples is rampant. Many of those that are part of the UN mission have alarming prejudiced views yet have Indian or Black blood. They grew up being hated by the “Europeans.” When they got to Haiti they found a country of Black people whom they could look down upon and somehow makes them feel better about themselves. Rape has little to do with sexual desire and everything to do power and control. By raping Haitians, they affirm their superiority.
It will be a joyous day when MINUSTAH leaves.
Shon
September 8, 2011
One thing I really want to say is that: If anyone can tell me why Haiti? Why Haitians people have to be abusing and killing and continue to leaving on that crazy urgly situation and give that country my life to save the whole country/ Haitians people, so Haiti would in peace forever. From july 28 1915 still Today Haitians been abused and got killed
it is time for the youngest Haitians generations living in peace