Adopting Resolution 2243 (2015), Security Council Renews Haiti Mission Mandate for One Year at Recommended Troop Levels
The Security Council this morning decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for one year, until 15 October 2016, at the Secretary‑General’s recommended force levels of up to 2,370 troops and 2,061 police.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2243 (2015) and acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council affirmed its intention to review by that date the Mission’s overall capacity to ensure security, stability and security conditions on the ground, in order to consider the possible withdrawal of the Mission, and it asked the Secretary-General to conduct a Strategic Assessment Mission to Haiti.
Welcoming the holding of the first round of legislative elections on 9 August, the Council strongly urged Haiti’s political actors to cooperate and without delaying ensure the holding of free, fair, inclusive, and transparent legislative, partial senatorial, municipal and local elections. It also encouraged the Government to promote increased women’s political participation in Haiti.
Noting that the Haitian National Police’s capacity-building remained a most critical task, the Council requested MINUSTAH to make renewed efforts to mentor and train police and corrections officers. It encouraged the Mission to continue to assist the Government in tackling gang violence, organized crime, illegal arms trafficking, drug trafficking and trafficking of persons, especially children. It further encouraged the Haitian authorities to continue to implement justice reform.
Strongly condemning the grave violations against children affected particularly by criminal gang violence, as well as widespread rape and other sexual abuse of women and girls, the Council called upon the Government, with the support of the Mission and the United Nations country team, to promote and protect the rights of women and children, as well as to improve response to rape complaints and access to justice for the victims of rape and other sexual crimes. It requested the Secretary‑General to continue to ensure full compliance of all MINUSTAH personnel with the Organization’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse.
The Council further asked MINUSTAH to continue to support the country’s authorities in controlling the flow of small arms, developing a weapons registry, reforming the weapons permit system, and developing and implementing a national community policing doctrine.
The meeting began at 10:10 a.m. and adjourned at 10:14 a.m.
Resolution
The full text of resolution 2243 (2015) reads as follows:
“The Security Council,
“Reaffirming its previous resolutions on Haiti, in particular its resolutions 2180 (2014), 2119 (2013), 2070 (2012), 2012 (2011), 1944 (2010), 1927 (2010), 1908 (2010), 1892 (2009), 1840 (2008), 1780 (2007), 1743 (2007), 1702 (2006), 1658 (2006), 1608 (2005), 1576 (2004) and 1542 (2004),
“Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of Haiti,
“Recognizing that, over the past year, Haiti has taken important steps towards stabilization, that paved the way for the completion of the legislative elections and for the presidential, municipal and local elections to take place in 2015,
“Welcoming the organisation of the first round of the legislative elections on 9 August 2015 in a relatively peaceful environment, and acknowledging the steps taken by the Haitian institutions to take corrective measures to address irregularities and improve the upcoming rounds of elections,
“Noting the importance of the Government of Haiti, the Electoral Council and political parties to ensure that the upcoming rounds of elections are conducted in a free, fair, peaceful and democratic manner and in accordance with the electoral law,
“Recognizing that the overall security situation remained generally stable with some improvement since the adoption of its resolution 2180 (2014),
“Recognizing the importance of condition-based security-related decisions about the future of MINUSTAH and noting that there were incidents of sporadic violence during the first round of elections while there was no increase in levels of insecurity or violence in the Departments from which the military component withdrew,
“Recognizing the important role of MINUSTAH in ensuring stability and security in Haiti, and commending MINUSTAH for continuing to assist the Government of Haiti to ensure a secure and stable environment, and expressing gratitude to the personnel of MINUSTAH and to their countries and paying tribute to those injured or killed in the line of duty; commending also the wide range of reconstruction efforts in Haiti and the successful work achieved by MINUSTAH’s military engineering units,
“Underlining the need to further strengthen Haitian judicial and correctional systems, in order to support a more integrated and cohesive Haitian security sector, and noting the commitment by the Government of Haiti to strengthen the rule of law, and to make further progress in security sector reform, and encouraging Haitian authorities to continue to pursue efforts in that regard,
“Recognizing also the interconnected nature of the challenges in Haiti, reaffirming that sustainable progress on security, the rule of law and institutional reform, national reconciliation and development, including the combat against unemployment and poverty, are mutually reinforcing, and welcoming the continuing efforts of the Government of Haiti and the international community to address these challenges, in line with the government’s priorities,
“Reiterating the critical role of the Haitian National Police (HNP) to Haiti’s security and stability; welcoming the ongoing strengthening, professionalization and reform of the HNP; noting the partial progress made in the implementation of the five-year 2012-2016 Haitian National Police Development Plan and reiterating the importance of maintaining support for it, especially in the area of recruitment and retention,
“Underscoring the importance of adequately funding the Haitian National Police to enhance its logistic, administrative and operational capacities, and encouraging the Government of Haiti to take advantage of the support being provided by the international community to guarantee the provision of adequate security for the Haitian people and calling on all international partners to strengthen their coordination in this regard,
“Recognizing the steps taken by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, including important appointments in 2015 that contributed to the strengthening of its capacity and the adoption of its internal rules of procedure in June 2014, to carry out its mandate and promote the strengthening of judicial independence, and expressing the need to further address human rights concerns that still remain in the corrections system, such as prolonged pretrial detentions, prison overcrowding and inhumane conditions,
“Noting with concern that the humanitarian situation in Haiti has deteriorated significantly since the Secretary-General report on MINUSTAH released in March 2015 while also noting reduced funding has limited the ability of the United Nations system and its partners to provide an adequate response to the multiple challenges,
“Noting with concern that food insecurity, as a result of drought and the consequent decrease in the harvest during the period from March to June, could impact the humanitarian situation and stability,
“Acknowledging that while important progress has been made, Haiti continues to face significant humanitarian challenges, with approximately 60,801 internally displaced persons, whose living conditions in the remaining sites, which are characterized by malnutrition, uneven access to water and sanitation, affecting especially women and children, must be further addressed, underscoring that funding to provide basic services and relocation subsidies for the remaining IDPs is no longer available,
“Welcoming the ongoing efforts by the Government of Haiti to control and eliminate the cholera epidemic, the progress made in reducing the incidence of cholera in Haiti, and urging the United Nations country team in coordination with other actors to continue to support the Government of Haiti in addressing the structural weaknesses, in particular in the water and sanitation systems, and underscoring the importance of strengthening the Haitian national health institutions, and recognizing United Nations efforts to combat cholera, including through the Secretary-General’s initiative to support the National Plan for the Elimination of Cholera; stressing the importance of adequate and sustainable support with particular attention to rapid and targeted medical responses to outbreaks designed to reduce the threat, recalling the visit that the Secretary-General undertook in July 2014 to Haiti, and taking note that he, among other things, launched jointly with the former Prime Minister the “Total Sanitation Campaign” as a key initiative against cholera, and the creation of the High-Level Committee for the Elimination of Cholera,
“Welcoming the first meeting of the High Level Committee on Cholera since the change of Government in January 2015, co-chaired by the Prime Minister Evans Paul and the Special Representative of the Secretary General Sandra Honoré, and noting that the increase in cholera cases reported at the end of 2014 and in the first four months of 2015 began showing signs of reversal in May, although the situation remains of concern in the West, Centre, Artibonite and North departments which account for more than 80 percent of the total number of cases between March and August 2015,
“Emphasizing that progress in the reconstruction of Haiti, as well as in Haiti’s social and economic development, including through effective, coordinated, commendable international development assistance and increased Haitian institutional capacity to benefit from this assistance, are crucial to achieving lasting and sustainable stability, and reiterating the need for security to be accompanied by social and economic development, including efforts in risk reduction and preparedness that address the country’s extreme vulnerability to natural disasters, efforts in which the Government of Haiti plays a leading role,
“Welcoming the continued development of the Government of Haiti’s Framework for the Coordination of External Aid (CAED) as its preferred donor coordination mechanism and venue for supporting the Government of Haiti’s development priorities and welcoming also the increased joint programming of the United Nations country team in Haiti in alignment and coordination with the Government-endorsed Integrated Strategic Framework, and welcoming also the commitment to foster greater alignment of international assistance with national priorities, increase transparency and strengthen mutual accountability, as well as the need for stronger coordination,
“Welcoming the review and the revision of the integrated strategic framework between the United Nations country team and MINUSTAH, which culminated in the signature of the revised framework on 28 May 2015, that serves to reinforce cooperation among the different elements of the United Nations presence in Haiti, and has allowed MINUSTAH and the United Nations country team to identify specific areas for enhanced collaboration, subject to the availability of additional financial resources,
“Urging donors to complete their pledges in order, inter alia, to help promote access to services and jobs for the most vulnerable, and underlining the Government of Haiti’s responsibility to provide clear guidance to donors on its priorities and to facilitate delivery of assistance to those most in need,
“Emphasizing the role of regional organizations in the ongoing process of stabilization and reconstruction of Haiti and calling on MINUSTAH to continue to work closely with international financial institutions, regional and subregional organizations, and other stakeholders, in particular the Organization of the American States (OAS), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),
“Welcoming the continued efforts of the HNP to patrol and enhance its presence and engagement directly with the population; recognizing MINUSTAH’s continued community policing efforts, in close coordination with camp committees, in sites for internally displaced persons, and welcoming their engagement with the population,
“Expressing serious concern that sexual and gender-based violence, especially against women and children, remains a substantial problem, particularly in marginalized districts of Port-au-Prince, remaining internally displaced persons sites and remote areas of the country,
“Recognizing that strengthening national human rights institutions as well as respect for human rights, including of children, and due process and combating criminality, sexual and gender-based violence, and putting an end to impunity and ensuring accountability are essential to ensuring the rule of law and security in Haiti, including access to justice,
“Reaffirming the authority of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the coordination and conduct of all activities of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in Haiti, and reaffirming also its support to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General’s role in ensuring optimal coordination and collaboration between MINUSTAH and the United Nations country team in connection with the aspects of their respective mandates that are correlated particularly as part of MINUSTAH’s condition-based consolidation plan,
“Taking note of the Secretary-General’s report S/2015/667 of 31 August 2015,
“Mindful of its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security under the Charter of the United Nations,
“Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, as described in section 1 of operative paragraph 7 of resolution 1542 (2004),
“1. Decides to extend the mandate of MINUSTAH, in line with the Secretary-General’s report, as contained in its resolutions 1542 (2004), 1608 (2005), 1702 (2006), 1743 (2007), 1780 (2007), 1840 (2008), 1892 (2009), 1908 (2010), 1927 (2010), 1944 (2010), 2012 (2011) 2070 (2012), 2119 (2013) and 2180 (2014), until 15 October 2016;
“2. Decides that MINUSTAH’s overall force levels will consist of up to 2,370 troops and of a police component composed of up to 2,601 personnel, the force levels recommended by the Secretary-General;
“3. Affirms its intention, based on the Security Council’s review by
15 October 2016 of Haiti’s overall capacity to ensure security and stability and on the security conditions on the ground, to consider the possible withdrawal of MINUSTAH and transition to a future United Nations presence beginning no sooner than 15 October 2016, to continue to assist the Government of Haiti to consolidate peace, including support to the Haitian National Police;
“4. Requests the Secretary-General to conduct a Strategic Assessment Mission to Haiti and, on this basis, to present to the Council recommendations on the future presence and role of the UN in Haiti, preferably by 90 days after the inauguration of the new President, and ideally after the formation of a new government;
“5. Affirms that adjustments to the force configuration should be based on the situation on the ground, compatible with the capacity of MINUSTAH and the Haitian National Police to maintain security in the context of the on-going electoral and political processes, and should take into account the results of the Secretary General’s strategic assessment, the importance of maintaining a secure and stable environment and the impact of social and political realities on Haiti’s stability and security, the increasing development of Haitian State capabilities, in particular the ongoing strengthening of the Haitian National Police, and the national authorities’ increasing exercise of the Haitian State’s responsibility for the maintenance of stability and security in the country;
“6. Calls upon MINUSTAH to maintain capacity, including appropriate air assets, to deploy troops rapidly throughout the country;
“7. Affirms its commitment to act at any time to adapt MINUSTAH’s mandate and force levels, if compelled by a change of conditions in Haiti, if necessary to preserve the progress Haiti has made towards durable security and stability;
“8. Takes note of the implementation of the conditions-based consolidation plan of MINUSTAH, which focused the Mission’s activities on a core set of mandated tasks as agreed with the Government of Haiti and notes that given its reduced capacity and with a view to ensuring continuous progress as the Mission transitions towards the postconsolidation period, MINUSTAH has prioritized the mandated activities and will continue to focus its resources on priority areas, while progressively disengaging from others in coordination with the Haitian Government and international partners;
“9. Recognizes the ownership and primary responsibility of the Government and the people of Haiti over all aspects of the country’s stabilization; encourages MINUSTAH to continue its efforts to provide logistical and technical expertise, within available means and consistent with its mandate, and coordinating as appropriate with the United Nations country team and others active in stabilization efforts, to assist as requested by the Government of Haiti, to continue to implement decentralization efforts and build the capacity of its institutions at the national and local levels, with a view to enhance further the Government of Haiti’s ability to extend State authority throughout Haiti and promote good governance and rule of law at all levels;
“10. Welcomes the holding of the first round of legislative elections that took place on 9 August 2015;
“11. Strongly urges Haiti's political actors to work cooperatively and without further delays to ensure the holding of free, fair, inclusive, and transparent presidential, legislative, partial senatorial, municipal, and local elections, including those which are long overdue, in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti in order to restore the functioning of the National Assembly and other elected bodies and also urges Haiti's political actors to encourage the citizens to a higher level of involvement in the upcoming electoral rounds;
“12. Welcomes the Special Representative of the Secretary-General’s efforts to support the political process under way in Haiti; reaffirms its call upon MINUSTAH to continue to support this process; calls upon MINUSTAH to deliver and coordinate, as appropriate, international electoral assistance to the Government of Haiti in cooperation with international stakeholders including the OAS, UNASUR, and CARICOM as appropriate;
“13. Reaffirms that Haiti is at an important juncture in the consolidation of stability and democracy, and the engagement of its political leaders and stakeholders in dialogue and compromise is vital to securing the gains made in recent years, in order to set Haiti firmly on a path towards lasting stability and economic development and to enable Haitians to assume even greater responsibility in that regard;
“14. Recalls its resolutions 1325 (2000) and 2122 (2013) and encourages the Government of Haiti, with the support of relevant stakeholders, to promote increased women’s political participation in Haiti, in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti;
“15. Reaffirms that, in the framework of the improvement of the rule of law in Haiti, strengthening the capacity of the Haitian National Police is paramount for the Government of Haiti to take timely and full responsibility for the country’s security needs, which is central to Haiti’s overall stability and future development;
“16. Reiterates that the Haitian National Police’s capacity-building remains a most critical task for MINUSTAH; requests MINUSTAH to continue its efforts to strengthen the institutional and operational capacities of the Haitian National Police, in particular by renewed efforts to mentor and train police and corrections personnel, including at intermediate rank levels; calls on MINUSTAH to align skills of UNPOL personnel to support these objectives and provide skilled trainers and technical advisers;
“17. Underlines the need to ensure effective support from the Government of Haiti and its international and regional partners for the 2012-2016 HNP Development Plan, in order to achieve the goals of a minimum of 15,000 fully operational serving police officers by 2016, adequate logistic and administrative capacity, accountability and respect for human rights and rule of law, a robust vetting process, enhanced recruitment procedures and training, strengthened land and maritime border control, and improved deterrence of transnational organized crime;
“18. Stresses the need for close coordination among MINUSTAH, donors, and the Government of Haiti to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of HNP capacity-building efforts; requests also MINUSTAH to facilitate this coordination and to continue to provide technical guidance to donor-funded projects as requested for the rehabilitation and construction of police and corrections facilities as well as for other projects aiming to support HNP’s institutional capacity as appropriate;
“19. Encourages MINUSTAH, in cooperation with the appropriate international actors, to continue to assist the Government in effectively tackling gang violence, organized crime, illegal arms trafficking, drug trafficking and trafficking of persons especially children, as well as ensuring proper border management;
“20. Encourages the Haitian authorities to continue to implement justice reform by taking the necessary steps, including through ongoing support to the Superior Council of the Judiciary, to ensure the independence and effectiveness of the judicial institutions, and to continue to address the issue of prolonged pretrial detentions and prison conditions and overcrowding, with special regard to women and children held in detention;
“21. Calls on all donors and partners, including international and non‑governmental organizations as well as the UN country team, to better coordinate their efforts and work closely with the Haitian Government through its Framework for the Coordination of External Aid (CAED), which is intended to help the Government ensure increased transparency, national ownership and coordination of foreign assistance and to strengthen the Government’s capacity to manage external assistance;
“22. Welcomes the revised integrated strategic framework between the United Nations country team and the Mission that serves to reinforce cooperation among the different elements of the United Nations presence in Haiti;
“23. Requests the United Nations country team, and calls upon all actors, to complement security and development operations undertaken by the Government of Haiti with the support of MINUSTAH with longer term impact activities aimed at effectively improving the living conditions of the concerned populations, in particular women and children;
“24. Requests MINUSTAH, working in coordination with the United Nations country team, to continue to implement quick-impact projects that contribute in building a secure and stable environment and enhance national ownership and the trust of the Haitian population towards MINUSTAH, particularly in the priority areas identified by the Mission’s leadership and consistent with the Government of Haiti’s priorities as appropriate;
“25. Strongly condemns the grave violations against children affected particularly by criminal gang violence, as well as widespread rape and other sexual abuse of women and girls, and calls upon the Government of Haiti, with the support of MINUSTAH and the United Nations country team, to continue to promote and protect the rights of women and children as set out in Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1612 (2005), 1820 (2008), 1882 (2009), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 2106 (2013) and 2122 (2013), and encourages all actors in the Haitian Government, the international community and civil society to renew their efforts to eliminate sexual and gender-based violence in Haiti; as well as to improve response to rape complaints and access to justice for the victims of rape and other sexual crimes; encourages national authorities to promote national legislation in this regard;
“26. Requests MINUSTAH to continue to pursue its community violence reduction approach, in close collaboration with the Haitian Government, with a particular focus on at-risk youth, women, the displaced and those living in violence-affected neighbourhoods and to ensure that this activity is coordinated with, and supports the work of, the United Nations country team to build local capacity in this area by taking into account Haitian priorities;
“27. Encourages MINUSTAH to continue assisting the Government of Haiti in providing adequate protection to the civilian population, with particular attention to the needs of internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups, especially women and children, including through joint community policing in the camps, in line with Security Council resolution 1894 (2009);
“28. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure full compliance of all MINUSTAH personnel with the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and to continue to keep the Council informed, and urges troop- and police-contributing countries to redouble efforts in preventing cases of misconduct and to ensure that acts involving their personnel are properly investigated and punished;
“29. Reaffirms MINUSTAH’s human rights mandate as an essential component of the Mission and recognizes that respect for human rights is an essential element for Haiti’s stability, in particular attention to individual accountability for grave violations under past governments, urges the Government to ensure with the support of the international community, as appropriate, the respect and protection of human rights by the Haitian National Police and the judiciary, and calls on MINUSTAH to provide monitoring and support in this regard;
“30. Encourages MINUSTAH, within its mandate, to continue to use existing means and capabilities, including its engineers, with a view to enhancing stability in Haiti while fostering greater Haitian ownership in the context of its condition-based consolidation plan;
“31. Requests MINUSTAH to continue to support the Haitian authorities in their efforts to control the flow of small arms, the development of a weapons registry, the revision of current laws on importation and possession of arms, reform of the weapons permit system and the development and implementation of a national community policing doctrine;
“32. Underscores the importance that planning documents for MINUSTAH’s military and police components, such as the concept of operations and rules of engagement, be regularly updated, as appropriate, and be in line with the provisions of all its relevant resolutions, and requests the Secretary-General to fully report in a timely manner on them to the Security Council and troop- and police-contributing countries;
“33. Requests the Secretary-General to keep it regularly informed, and to report to the Council on the implementation of MINUSTAH’s mandate, semi-annually and not later than forty-five days prior to its expiration;
“34. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to include in his reports a comprehensive assessment of the situation in Haiti, highlighting the security conditions on the ground with a specific focus on the capacity of the Haitian National Police, and to continue to present a progress report of the consolidation plan as an annex to his next report;
“35. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”