Multinational force dispatched to pave way for Aristide's return.

The "flower of democracy" would soon open in Haiti, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide--in exile since the September 1991 military coup--told the General Assembly on 4 October. That democracy had been "obtained through diplomacy", he stressed.

Thanks to the "heroic courage of the Haitian people" and the solidarity and support of the international community and the UN Secretary-General, he would finally return home, Mr. Aristide stated.

He was especially grateful to United States President William J. Clinton, who, he said, had opened a "channel of hope after the suffering", and to the Friends of the Secretary-General--Canada, France, Venezuela and Argentina--as well as the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which had supported the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and the 3 July 1993 Governors Island Agreement.

Even today, with the peace operation "Uphold Democracy"--the multinational force in Haiti since 19 September--a "smile had shed light upon the faces of those who loved peace", President Aristide said. In calling for "reconciliation and justice for all in Haiti", he hoped that the roots of democracy would grow again in his country.

Formation of a multinational force and the use of "all necessary means" to facilitate the departure from Haiti of the military leadership, consistent with the Governors Island Agreement, was authorized under Security Council resolution 940 (1994) of 31 July.

On 29 September, in adopting resolution 944 (1994), the Council decided to lift its sanctions against Haiti, at 0001 a.m. EST on the day after the return of President Aristide.

On 23 September, former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi was named the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Haiti, succeeding Dante Caputo of Argentina. Unlike Mr. Caputo, who had been a Special Envoy of both the UN and the Organization of American States (OAS), Mr. Brahimi was to represent solely the UN.

In accepting Mr. Caputo's resignation on 19 September, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali thanked him for the "courage and devotion" which he had lent to the discharge of his duties and for his "tireless efforts for almost two years to restore democracy to Haiti".

Consistent non-compliance

Until mid-September, progress towards achieving the "goal of restoring democracy" in Haiti had suffered serious set-backs, the Secretary-General said in his annual report (A/49/1). The Haitian military authorities were in "consistent noncompliance" with the Governors Island Agreement and there had been a "grave deterioration of the human rights situation".

In fact, tensions had "drastically increased" after the illegal installation on 11 My of Emile Jonassaint as "provisional President", Mr. Boutros-Ghali stated.

On 11 July, the staff of the joint UN/OAS international Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH), established under General Assembly resolution 47/20 B on 20 April 1993, had been declared "undesirable" by the de facto authorities and given 48 hours to leave the country. That "illegal action" was condemned "most resolutely" on 11 July by the Secretaries-General of the UN and OAS.

The Security Council, in a 12 July statement, denounced the decision of the Haitian illegal authorities. The work of MICIVIH, it said, had the "highest approbation of the Council", and its mandate had been extended on 8 July for another year by the Assembly in resolution 48/27 B.

Considering the action a "serious escalation in the defiant stance" of Haiti's de facto regime and military authorities towards the international community, the Council condemned their attempt to "avoid appropriate international scrutiny at a time of increasing indiscriminate violence against the civilian population".

As the Council continued to hold the military junta "individually and collectively responsible" for the safety and security of the international presence in Haiti, it stressed that the recent expulsion had further reinforced the Council's "continued determination to bring about a rapid and definitive solution to this crisis".

On 12 July, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali announced (A/48//967)-(S/1994/829) his decision, in consultation with the Acting OAS Secretary-General, to evacuate the MICIVIH staff from Haiti, taking into consideration their security.

"I deplore the fact that, despite the efforts of the international community, the de facto authorities in Haiti, who continue to flout their commitments under the Governors Island Agreement, have now stopped the monitoring of the violations of human rights and political freedoms which are taking place in the country", he told the Council.

Resolution 940: All necessary means'

In authorizing UN Member States to form a "multinational force under unified command and control" and, in that framework, to use "all necessary means" to facilitate the departure from Haiti of the military leadership and the prompt return of President Aristide, the Security Council on 31 July recognized the "unique character" of Haiti's situation and its "deteriorating, complex and extraordinary nature", which required an "exceptional response".

In adopting resolution 940 (1994) by a vote of 12 to none, with 2 abstentions (Brazil and China), the Council expressed grave concern over the continuing escalation of systematic violations of civil liberties, the "desperate plight of the Haitian refugees", and the recent expulsion of MICIVIH staff.

When a secure and stable environment had been established, the multinational force was to terminate its mission, the Council ruled, and the UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH)--set up in September 1993--was to "assume the full range of its functions".

The Council approved the establishment of an UNMIH advance team of not more than 60 personnel to establish means of coordination with the international force and to monitor its operations.

In addition, UNMIH's mandate was extended for another six months, until 31 January 1995, and its troop level increased to 6,000. The objective of completing UNMIH's mission not later than February 1996, in cooperation with the constitutional Government of Haiti, was established.

Under its revised mandate, UNMIH was to assist the legitimate constitutional authorities in creating an "environment conducive to the organization of free and fair legislative elections".

On 15 July, the Secretary-General had reported (S/1994/828) that the situation in Haiti had "deteriorated to an intolerable extent". The illegal military junta continued to "defy the will of the international community and to inflict murder, rape and torture on the unfortunate people of Haiti who also bear the brunt of sanctions".

That situation, as pointed out in Council resolution 933 (1994) of 30 June, had to be brought to an end, which would require the deployment of a "very large international force", the Secretary-General stated.

Discarded possibility'

At the end of August, another attempt to solve the Haitian crisis had regrettably "come to a dead end", the Secretary-General stated (A/49/1). The country's military leaders had refused to meet the Secretary-General's special envoy, sent to Haiti on 2 5 August to arrange for a visit of a high-level mission to seek a peaceful implementation of resolution 940 (1994).

By rejecting that initiative, the illegal de facto regime had once again "discarded a possibility" of peacefully implementing the Governors Island Agreement and resolutions 917 (1994) of 6 May and 940 (1994), Council members said on 30 August.

In a statement (S/PRST/1994/49) to the media by Council President Yuliy Vorontsov of the Russian Federation, they also reiterated their condemnation of the "systematic repression, violence and violations of international humanitarian law" carried out against the Haitian people.

The 28 August assassination of Father Jean-Marie Vincent--a Haitian priest who had "devoted his life to the service of the poor" and a dose friend of President Aristide--had once again showed the "climate of violence" in Haiti which continued to deteriorate under the illegal regime, Council members stated.

Also on 30 August, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali said the killing of Father Vincent would "only strengthen the resolve of the international community to put an end to murder, terror and impunity in Haiti".

No bloodshed

A 2,000-strong multinational force arrived in Haiti on 19 September, following an arrangement made the day before resulting from intense consultations between a high-level United States mission and the Haitian military leadership.

The agreement, which the Secretary-General said avoided "violence and bloodshed", provided that certain officers of the Haitian armed forces--Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, Brig. Gen. Philippe Biamby and Lt. Col. Michel Francois--were to step down when a general amnesty was enacted by the Haitian Parliament or on 15 October, whichever was earlier.

After its first week of operation, the Force reported on 26 September (S/1994/1107), "several important steps towards establishing a secure and stable environment for the return of President Aristide and the full implementation of resolution 940 (1994)" had been made.

It had taken control of the Haitian armed forces' heavy weapons company and its armaments, and initiated a weapons control programme that included a "buy-back programme designed to rid the streets of as many illegal weapons as possible". Haitian police activities were also being monitored.

A number of programmes to "ameliorate potential causes of unrest" and build a "relationship of trust and friendship" with the local people ha been launched, it was reported. T Force had also facilitated the pursuit of "substantial humanitarian efforts to ease the suffering of the most needy", including the "swift introduction of humanitarian aid flights" into Port-au-Prince and coordination of several civic operations to improve the Haitians' quality of life, providing basic services such as water purification, improved sanitation and basic medical care.

By the end of September, the Force had more than 17,000 personnel in Haiti; also, 12 UN military observers and 30 other members of UNMIH's 60-person advance team were in place.

In welcoming the news that a military intervention had been averted and conditions created for peacefully implementing Council resolution 940 (1994), Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali on 19 September expressed hope that a "secure and stable environment" would soon be established through cooperation between the Haitian military authorities and the multinational force. He also looked forward to the return to Haiti of President Aristide and the resumption of international assistance to help rebuild the country's economy and institutions.

Resolution 944: Sanctions to be lifted

On 29 September, the Security Council decided to lift the sanctions imposed on Haiti through Council resolutions 841 (1993), 873 (1993) and 917 (1994) "at 0001 a.m. EST on the day after the return to Haiti of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide".

Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the 15-member body adopted resolution 944 (1994) by a vote of 13 to none, with 2 abstentions (Brazil and Russian Federation). The Council also decided to dissolve the Committee established under resolution 841 (1993) to monitor compliance with sanctions.

The Secretary-General was asked to ensure the immediate completion of the deployment of observers and other elements of the UNMIH advance team.

The Council also urged Member States to respond positively to the request for contributions to UNMIH. It encouraged the Secretary-General, in consultation with his counterpart from the OAS, to continue efforts to facilitate the immediate return of MICIVIH to Haiti.

Further deterioration

Haiti was "politically stymied and economically paralysed", Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali warned on 26 August (S/1994/1012). Its population had "for months been anxiously awaiting a solution to the crisis".

Immediately after resolution 940 (1994) was adopted, a state of siege had been decreed by Haiti's "provisional President", replacing the 3 June state of emergency, the Secretary-General reported. Further restrictions of public freedoms had followed, induding initiation of prosecutions of citizens who had called for revolt or foreign invasion.

On 1 August, warnings were issued to the local press by the Ministries of the interior and information not to publish "alarmist or tendentious news" and "not make itself the instrument of foreign propaganda under penalty of temporary suspension".

On 4 August, President Aristide and UN Ambassador Fritz Longchamp were pronounced "guilty of the crime of high treason". On 12 August, a ban was instituted on publishing without prior authorization information or statements by foreign embassies in Haiti.

In July, a group of Haitian human rights protection organizations identified 41 cases of extrajudicial executions, 200 cases of arbitrary arrest, 76 cases of inhuman and degrading treatment, and 150 cases of searches and various forms of intimidation, the Secretary-General reported.

International humanitarian assistance was encountering "numerous obstacles". Although food aid was provided daily to 940,000 people, and programmes continued to be implemented in the fields of health, water, sanitary installations and agriculture, local authorities either did not issue, or delayed the issuance of, duty-free import licences, deliberately blocked humanitarian deliveries, and were reluctant to authorize the landing of humanitarian flights, the report said.

To enforce UN sanctions, a bilateral agreement had been concluded on 2 August between the Dominican Republic and the United States, under which the United States was to provide the Dominican authorities with equipment to monitor the border with Haiti.

The Secretary-General reported (S/1994/871) on 26 July that despite the electoral timetable, "no legislative action" was being taken to prepare for elections scheduled for November 1994.

Various indicators pointed to an alarming humanitarian situation: a sharp increase of the all-prices index; unemployment rate of over 50 per cent of the active population; increasing incidence of certain illnesses, such as diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid, acute respiratory infections and measles: and persistent malnutrition throughout the country.

Although "no specific threats" to the remaining UN staff had been reported after MICIVIH's departure, there had been "continuing reports of Haitians being assaulted and killed", Mr. Boutros-Ghali said. Locally-recruited staff of international organizations were "particularly sensitive to the continuing tension in the country", he noted.

An 'unprecedented crisis'

Haiti was experiencing an "unprecedented human rights crisis", MICIVIH concluded in a 27 July report (A/48/532/Add.3) covering the period from 31 January to 30 June 1994.

Human rights violations ranged from harassment to extrajudiciary executions (sometimes with mutilation of corpses), and included "intimidation, financial extortion, arbitrary arrest, illegal detention, beatings and other forms of torture, rapes and enforced disappearances", it stated.

Particularly striking was the "political dimension" of those violations, since "more than two thirds of victims" of enforced disappearances and rape were "feaders of or activists in grassroots political or working-class organizations or their relatives".

Also, the Mission stressed, the political oppression affecting the whole country was concentrated in working-class districts, such as Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince and Raboteau in Gonaives, and in localities known for their support of President Aristide.

Since those responsible for massive human rights violations were protected by military authorities, it was becoming increasingly dear" that the aim of the repression was to "destroy the prodemocracy movement. The army high command bears all the responsibility for this", the Mission concluded.

Humanitarian concerns

To counteract the alarming effects of tightened economic sanctions on Haiti's poorest and most vulnerable people, the World Food Programme (WFP) had expanded its emergency relief operations on the island, it was announced on 7 September.

According to WFP estimates, more than 2 million people, within the total population of 6.5 million, were at risk. More than half of the work force was unemployed; the loss of income had severely affected the diets of the poor; and pre-school children suffered worst. 5