Multinational Force replaced by UN peace-keepers: special transition ceremony held on 31 March.

"This is a great day for Haiti ... and for the United Nations", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali declared on 31 March in Port-au-Prince, as the Multinational Force (MNF) handed over its responsibility to the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH), a move sanctioned by Security Council resolution 975 (1995) of 30 January. Presiding with Presidents Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti and William Clinton of the United States over special ceremonies in the capital city to celebrate the event, the Secretary-General said the occasion was a "turning point in the international effort to bring peace. stability and justice to the Haitian people", a day marking the "high point of succesful cooperation" between the UN and a coalition of Member States, led by the United States.

As the UN took over, he went on, two factors remained vital: the people of Haiti must maintain their commitment to rebuild their society: and UN Member States must continue to "support this revitalization of the multilateral ideal".

Five years of UN involvement

The 31 March ceremonies capped more than five years of active UN involvement in Haiti, including overseeing the country's first democratic elections in December 1990, the complex negotiations after Mr. Aristide's ouster in September 1991, human rights verification and provision of humanitarian aid, imposition of sanctions. and the dispatch of the MNF in September 1994 to pave the way for Aristide's restoration to power. The Haitian President returned to the island-nation on 15 October 1994.

In his 31 March speech, Mr. Boutros-Ghali said that although the international community was willing to assist in ensuring the security of legislative and local elections, scheduled for June 1995, as well as the presidential elections in autumn, it was the Haitian people themselves who must "buckle down to the task of rebuilding their country on new foundations, which must take charge of their own destiny" .

Operation "Uphold Democracy"--the title given to the MNF--had "lived up to its name". The fact that President Clinton had attended the ceremony was an "expression of successful cooperation" between the United States and the UN, the Secretary-General declared.

"If the world seeks a model for the future, it may find one here", Mr. Boutros-Ghali said later in the day, at a lunch with President Clinton. "When Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill created the term `United Nations', a day like this, I believe, is what they had in mind".

On arrival in Haiti on 30 March, the Secretary-General was briefed on the country's situation by his Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, and the UNMIH Force Commander, Major-General Joseph Kinzer.

Special Representative Brahimi had expressed "shock and indignation" at the assassination on 28 March of Mireille Durochar-Bertin, a Haitian lawyer and political opponent of President Aristide.

"Those who want to perpetuate the reign of violence and prevent Haiti from moving forward on the path to democracy and progress are condemned in advance", Mr. Brahimi stated. He expressed confidence that the Haitian people would "not react to provocations", and pledged the international community's full support in their work to transform Haiti.

Resolution 975: Transfer of responsibility

The Security Council on 30 January, in adopting resolution 975 (1995) by a vote of 14 to none, with 1 abstention (China), had authorized the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps for the full transfer of responsibility from the MNF to UNMIH by 31 March.

These included deployment of up to 6,000 troops and 900 civilian police officers, as well as "other civilian personnel sufficient to allow UNMIH to assume the full range of its functions". as established under Council resolutions 867 (1993) and 940 (1994).

In welcoming the positive development in Haiti--including the departure of the former military leadership. the return of President Aristide and the restoration of the legitimate authorities, as envisaged in the 3 July 1993 Governors Island Agreement--the Council also extended the UNMIH mandate for a period of six months, until 31 July 1995.

Although a "secure and stable environment" now existed in Haiti, the Council recognized that the situation remained fragile and urged the Haitian Government, with the assistance of UNMIH and the international community, to "establish without delay an effective national police force and to improve the functioning of its justice system".

In that regard, the Secretary-General was asked to set up a fund through which voluntary contributions from Member States could be made available to "support the international police monitoring programme and assist with the creation of an adequate police force in Haiti".

After the vote, United States Ambassador Madeleine K. Albright declared: "Today marks a planned and important point of transition in Haiti's journey from tyranny to democracy."

The Multinational Force--created on 31 July 1994, under Council resolution 940 (1994), to establish and maintain a "secure and stable environment" within which democratic institutions could begin to function--had achieved that purpose, she said.

On 17 January, the Secretary-General reported (S/1995/46) the security situation in Haiti had "improved considerably" since the deployment of the MNF, the "end of the de facto regime", and President Aristide's return. Indeed, Haiti had "not enjoyed this level of security for a very long time", he added.

However, he added, there was "no room for complacency". A 12 January incident--in which an MNF member and "his Haitian attacker" who had refused to pay a toll on highway 100 in Gonaives had lost their lives--was a reminder that "everyone needs to be alert at all times, and that utmost care must be the order of the day", the Secretary-General warned.

Also, there were "stir] all too many crimes", albeit not politically motivated, including murders, armed robberies, beatings and rapes, with perpetrators seldom caught or managing all too often "to regain their freedom without proper investigation arid due process", he reported.

Nevertheless, everything suggested that the overwhelming majority of Haitians were "determined to defend their newly recovered freedom" and would oppose with determination any attempt to bring them back to the "hated past of intimidation, exploitation and humiliation", Mr. Boutros-Ghali concluded.

On 18 January, the 27 States members of the MNF, in informing (S/1995/55) the Security Council that a "secure and stable environment" now existed in Haiti, had suggested that UNMIH might "begin assuming the full range of its functions".

More than 30,000 weapons had been either seized or bought back through weapons control programmes since the beginning of the MNF in September 1994, it was reported (5/1994/211) on 20 March. The MNF "continued to project a presence throughout the country, with all missions being well received by the population".

The report stated that the "safest carnival season in at least eight years came to a successful conclusion in Port-au-Prince, with crowds of 750,000 gathering peacefully".

An increase in the number of murders in Port-au-Prince from 12 to 14 March had been mostly the "result of petty criminals receiving summary `justice' from the people on the scene", with "no evidence" that those crimes were "interrelated, coordinated or politically motivated", the MNF reported.

Nevertheless, the Force had increased security to humanitarian agency food convoys, continued efforts with regard to the overall improvement and acceptance of the Interim Public Security Forces, and worked closely with the International Civilian Mission in Haiti (MICIVIH) in analyzing human rights and prison reform issues.

Between 26 September 1994 and 20 March 1995, the United States submitted 13 reports to the Council on MNF activities. Overall, the situation had evolved from "relatively quiet" with some incidents of violence on 10 October, to one of "continued security and stability" by 9 January. It remained as such until the end of Marsh.

A prestigious four-man mission reported on 26 February that Haiti was "secure and plans were well under way for parliamentary and local elections in June". Its members were former United States President Jimmy Carter, former Belize Prime Minister George Price, United States Senator Sam Nunn and retired General Colin Powell, who undertook a three-day visit to meet with Haitian officials and observe the progress of reforms.

On 31 January, an aid package totalling some $900 million for 12 to 15 months, was pledged in Paris at the first international donor meeting for Haiti. Future projects included repairs of road, police headquarters, prisons, water, sewage and electricity systems, and distribution of school supplies and food.