Actualité

Haitians woke up Thursday under a cloud of uncertainty as the country’s fragile political transition descended into open confrontation, with the sides locked in a standoff and neither appearing willing to back down. With just days remaining until its mandate ends, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council is seeking to remove Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé from office. Such a move would create a dangerous political vacuum—one the United States and other international partners are anxious to avoid—and could open the door to renewed instability at a moment Haiti’s security forces have begun to make measurable gains against armed gangs.

The U.S. Embassy added that such a maneuver would undermine efforts to establish “a minimal level of security and stability” in Haiti, where gang violence is surging and poverty deepening. The statement came as some members of the council are at odds with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, although it wasn’t immediately clear why. The council met behind closed doors earlier Wednesday. A spokesman for the prime minister’s office said he could not comment on the situation. The council’s seven members with voting powers did not return messages asking for comment.

The U.S. objective for Haiti remains the establishment of baseline security and stability. The U.S. would regard any effort to change the composition of the government by the non-elected TPC at this late stage in its tenure to be an effort to undermine that objective and as such null and void. The U.S. would consider anyone supporting such a disruptive step favoring the gangs to be acting contrary to the interests of the United States, the region, and the Haitian people and will act accordingly.

Members of the Security Council made clear that the presidential council’s mandate will end in 18 days. Yet, despite this, members seem poised to remain in office while targeting Fils-Aimé’s, who is trying to avoid the fate of predecessor Garry Conille, who was also fired by the council. But unlike Conille, who was fired after six months and lost support from Washington, Fils-Aimé is in a different position. Foreign diplomats in Port-au-Prince have made it clear the council’s days are numbered and that Fils-Aimé, a businessman, must stay on for continuity and to avoid a political vacuum that could further embolden gangs.

Le Conseil de sécurité s’est réuni, cet après-midi, pour examiner la situation en Haïti alors que les arrangements de gouvernance arriveront à leur terme le 7 février et que le renouvellement du mandat du Bureau intégré des Nations Unies en Haïti (BINUH) sera examiné fin janvier.  Dans ce contexte délicat de transition, la grave situation du pays sur les plans sécuritaire et humanitaire a inquiété les délégations, informées par le rapport du Secrétaire général et l’exposé de son Représentant spécial.