On Tuesday, June 4th, 2024, in a statement Amnesty International raised urgent concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the establishment of human rights guarantees for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, which should be deployed soon.

"It is imperative to ensure that any action taken by this multinational mission led by Kenya and supported by the United States and other countries strictly complies with international human rights law as mandated by the United Nations Security Council [...]" said Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

Despite clear requirements in UN Security Council Resolution 2699 (2023) authorizing the mission for participating UN member states to ensure the highest standards of transparency, there is still a lack of detailed public information about the rules, procedures, structure, as well as an accountability mechanism to investigate human rights violations, in particular sexual exploitation, and abuse.

"Apart from vetting procedures, the mission personnel should receive comprehensive pre-deployment and in-theater training of basic United Nations principles, human rights law, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, civilians and child protection. It is also essential that an independent mechanism be in place to receive complaints, investigate all allegations of human rights violations, rule on redress, and refer individual cases to a Haitian civilian court, or any jurisdiction of a country providing personnel for investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution," said Piquer.

Amnesty International considers that the participation of Haitian organizations, including feminist organizations, in this process is crucial. Civil society’s collective memory and knowledge of a series of actions, which often led to abuses and other wrongdoings, must be considered during the entire process of defining and implementing human rights safeguards for the MSS.

HL/ HaitiLibre