Video: Challenges in Haiti
The Kent Program in Conflict Resolution at Columbia SIPA presents a public discussion about the situation in Haiti. The country stands at a moment of extreme peril. The Transitional Presidential Council's mandate expires on February 7, and there is currently no succession plan. Meanwhile gangs remain in control of much of the country, and are increasingly forming links to transnational organized crime groups. The US-led Gang Suppression Force has received a mandate from the UN, but funding has yet to materialize. Merely destroying the gangs without a political plan for Haiti's future in place is likely to prolong the chaos that has enveloped one of the poorest countries on Earth. We are convening a panel of experts to discuss the Haitian crisis, its causes, and the question of why the sufferings of 12 million people have not received more attention from the international community, particularly at a moment when the US' security strategy is pivoting to its own hemisphere.
Featuring:
- Dave Fils-Aimé- Director and founder of Baskètbòl pou Ankadre Lajenès (BAL) a Haitian NGO working with youth impacted by gang activity
- William O’Neill- International Human Rights lawyer and UN Independent expert on Human Rights in Haiti
- Michèle Montas- Haitian Journalist and former spokesperson for UN SG Ban Ki-Moon
- Jacqueline Charles - Haiti and Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald, Pulitzer Prize nominee
- Marc Jacquand (moderator)- SIPA Adjunct Professor, and Chief of Staff, UN Department of Safety and Security
Introduced by: Jean-Marie Guéhenno- Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs; Director of SIPA’s Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution