US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1088

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001088 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/WHA 
DS/DSS/ITA 
DSERCC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, HA, MINUSTAH 
SUBJECT: UNSC LEAVES HAITI WITH MIXED EMOTIONS AHEAD OF 
MINUSTAH MANDATE RENEWAL 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James B. Foley, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
1. (C) Summary: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 
concluded on April 16 a four-day fact-finding visit to Haiti 
during which they met with IGOH officials, MINUSTAH 
leadership, political party and civil society leaders. UNSC 
members reaffirmed the international community's support for 
the IGOH, called for all parties to participate in elections 
this fall, and said they would look favorably on mandate 
renewal and on Haiti's request for resources. Privately, 
however, the UNSC left Haiti with a bleak view of Haiti's 
future given the level of discord within the society and the 
lack of constructive ideas for the future. End summary. 
 
Security 
-------- 
 
2. (SBU) The security situation was a prominent issue in all 
discussions. The UNSC called on Haitians to end the violence 
and disarm, and (privately) encouraged MINUSTAH to be more 
assertive. UNSC President Sardenberg and other UNSC members 
talked about possibly increasing CIVPOL numbers in the next 
mandate renewal. The UNSC visit coincided with the shooting 
death of a Filipino peacekeeper and continuing MINUSTAH 
firefights with gang members in Cite Soleil. There was only 
one Lavalas street protest, despite threats by hardliners to 
disrupt the visit. (Comment: the empty threat reaffirms our 
belief that Lavalas is unable to put people on the streets in 
the masses they claim. End comment). 
 
Elections 
--------- 
 
3. (SBU) At a meeting of the UNSC and the Core Group, SRSG 
Valdes gave an impassioned intervention on behalf of 
respecting the electoral calendar, saying any postponement 
would lead to chaos. The UNSC took this message on board and 
in its closing press conference endorsed the current 
timetable, making a very clear call for all Haitians to 
participate. The Council also noted the urgency with which 
preparations needed to move forward. In public statements 
after their earlier meetings with the UNSC, the Prime 
Minister and the CEP reaffirmed the current timetable and 
asserted preparations would be ready on time. (Note: This 
reaffirmation of the elections schedule comes in the wake of 
hints last week that some CEP members had all but concluded 
the need to push back the timetable. End note). 
 
4. (C) The UNSC met separately with a cross-section of 
political party and civil society leaders. The former 
complained about the impact of the security situation on the 
elections process, but according to a MINUSTAH contact, 
appeared to get the message from the UN that the elections 
will go forward despite current challenges. Several of the 
politicians (including from Lavalas) welcomed the chance to 
discuss issues they had in common in order to develop a 
"minimum consensus" on how to move forward and requested that 
MINUSTAH facilitate continuation of the dialogue as a 
follow-up. 
 
5. (C) Civil Society groups similarly focused on election 
security, but the discussions were punctuated by a 
nationalistic intervention by bar association representative 
Osner Fevry (who was robustly rebuffed by the Algerian UNSC 
representative who rejected accusations that the UN was 
occupying Haiti). Participants from the anti-Aristide groups 
(G184, Initiative Societe Civile, Protestant Church) 
generally stuck to a well-worn script of complaints, whereas 
the Lavalas ex-mayors group reportedly made a constructive 
presentation, asking the UN for help to ensure fair access to 
the elections field and justice reform. 
 
Human Rights 
------------ 
 
6. (C) On human rights, UNSC members (including UN Ambassador 
Patterson) raised the Neptune case with the President and 
Prime Minister and received unsatisfactory answers. The 
President reportedly dismissed international concerns and 
argued that the case had to go through the full judicial 
process. Sardenberg suggested possibly increasing the number 
of UN human rights monitors as part of the mandate renewal. 
 
Mandate Renewal 
--------------- 
 
7. (C) One of the main objectives of the UNSC visit was to 
get a first-hand look at the situation in advance of May 
discussions on mandate renewal. A MINUSTAH official told us 
that most of the permreps came away from the visit with their 
"eyes opened" by the realities here. Valdes' political 
advisor told us that in the immediate aftermath of the visit, 
MINUSTAH is finalizing a set of recommendations to the 
Council that will include: 
 
-- Possibly enlarging the military and/or CIVPOL elements; 
 
-- Consideration to MINUSTAH providing both long-term 
election observers and a coordination mechanism for all the 
international elections observers that are likely to come; 
 
-- Critical need to fill funding gaps for elections ($22 
million) and DDR ($15 million); 
 
-- Formalization of a mechanism for international judges to 
come to Haiti to help out with politically sensitive trials. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (C) Overall, the UNSC visit was successful in at least its 
narrow purpose to bolster support for Haiti's transition and 
lay the groundwork for renewal of a new, potentially more 
robust UN mandate. SRSG Valdes was upbeat about the visit and 
thinks the UNSC will follow through on MINUSTAH's behalf in 
terms of much-needed resources, particularly for elections, 
DDR, and legal support. But there were negative moments. The 
IGOH's response on Neptune was disappointing and overall the 
Council seemed to come away with a bleak view of Haiti's 
prospects based on the poor impression made by almost all 
Haitian political interlocutors. Haitian politicians 
expressed a great deal of discord and had few constructive 
ideas for the future. Unfortunately, the discord among the 
political class - never an altruistic bunch - is likely to 
widen once campaigning gains momentum. 
 
FOLEY