E. MINUSTAH Specialized Police Team Builds Capacity for Police Response to
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Haiti (Lesson #2491)
Observations:
In 2010, a Norwegian Specialized Police Team (SPT) deployed with the United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in order to build the Haitian National Police (HNP)’s capacity to
conduct investigations into sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The SPT approach proved
more effective than the UN’s traditional approach utilizing individual police officers because the SPT
police experts worked closely with Host Nation (HN) police to develop and implement a specific
project over a 3-5 year framework. However, the SPT also faced challenges due to UN bureaucratic
procedures and lack of collaboration across various elements of the mission.
Discussion:
MINUSTAH was established in Haiti in 2004 with a mandate focusing on rebuilding rule of law
through professionalizing the Haitian National Police (HNP) as well as involvement with anti-gang
efforts in the shantytown Cité-Soleil in Port-au-Prince. Its mandate has changed some over time, in
response to political and socio-economic circumstances. (In October 2017, MINUSTAH transitioned
to a smaller UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), comprised mainly of police.)
While Haiti has not emerged directly from a specific armed conflict, the past decades have seen
political instability and sporadic violence connected with dictators rising and falling and a military
coup. This instability has been exacerbated by the substantial 2010 earthquake which caused as many
as 220,000 deaths and at least 1.5 million displaced people, not to mention a cholera epidemic
stemming from faulty sanitation at MINUSTAH bases, affecting over 770,000 people.
Following the 2010 earthquake, displaced Haitians lived in makeshifts shelters and crowded
encampments with limited sanitation facilities. Extremely high rates of sexual violence were reported
in these Internally Displaced Person (IDP) settlements; one study documented 14% of displaced
respondents (or their household members) having experienced sexual violence and/or rape since the
earthquake. In Cité-Soleil, state police did not have much of a presence, and rape was used routinely
by gangs for area control. Furthermore, the police often dismissed cases or failed to act in response
to victims who did report sexual assault, which perpetuated de facto impunity for many SGBV
perpetrators. Due to a lack of trust in the Haitian police and justice departments as well as community
stigmatization and fear of reprisals, most victims of sexual assault or domestic violence have thus not
reported to the Haitian police.
Due to the exorbitant rates of SGBV in Haitian IDP camps, Norway decided to spearhead an effort
to deploy police peacekeepers focused specifically on this task. There are two main options for how
police typically deploy in UN missions: 1) Individual Police Officers (IPOs), or 2) Formed Police Units
(FPUs). IPOs are deployed on an individual basis, seconded as police or law enforcement personnel
to perform specific policing tasks. FPUs, on the other hand, are cohesive mobile police units
composed of 120-160 armed and self-sustaining police officers tasked with supporting higher-risk
UN operations, ensuring the safety of UN personnel/facilities, and managing public order. More
recently emerging is an alternative option for UN police – the Specialized Police Team (SPT)
concept. SPTs are a group of experts with a particular specialization seconded to serve with the UN
as a team working on a specific policing project.
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