Stop imperialist intervention! The struggle of the Haitian people at the UN

The anti-colonial struggle in Haiti rightly fits into the current geopolitical context, which is characterised by a profound multidimensional crisis of the dominant system. This crisis is leading to an upheaval in the global geopolitical and geo-economic balance of power and, consequently, to an upsurge in imperialist strategies. Indeed, the dominant imperialist forces are continuing to impose their stranglehold on the small Caribbean island, in order to gain clear strategic advantages. The aim is to prevent Haiti from embarking on the road to true independence and thus achieving national and popular sovereignty. The Haitian people’s long-term struggle for emancipation and self-determination requires a strong and mobilised international solidarity movement.

The current situation in Haiti is characterised by unprecedented street violence and widespread and systematic human rights violations. This is particularly true for the most vulnerable sections of the population (the working classes and rural communities). Half the country is now in the hands of criminal gangs exploited by the national oligarchy – subject to imperialist interests – to contain and limit social protest. Faced with this situation, Haitian social movements (farmers’ organisations, progressive political organisations, trade unions, women’s organisations) are organising themselves collectively. They are demanding autonomous spaces in which to build their own paths to self-determined development. These initiatives are opposed by local and international elites, who fear these alternative models to the dominant racist and neo-colonial system.

In the Haitian context, the UN has played a historically problematic role. Interventions under the cover of this organisation have continued for three decades. The declared aim of these “peace missions” has been to help the country regain political stability and combat corruption, but in reality they have contributed to worsening the situation. At the beginning of October 2023, the UN Security Council outlined a new foreign military intervention to officially combat the gangs shaking the country.

Haitian social movements immediately warned against this new attempt at foreign interference under the cover of the UN, or rather under the cover of the “UN Core Group on Haiti”. The latter, a self-proclaimed inter-governmental group of countries (which includes the United States, France, Great Britain and Canada), has de facto controlled and administered Haiti’s political life since 2004 (the year of the coup d’état sponsored by the United States and France against President Aristide). It is a group that represents neither the UN nor the so-called “international community”, but rather the strategic interests of the dominant imperialist system led by the United States.

The main Haitian peasant organisations that are members of La Via Campesina – Tet Kole Ty Peyizan Ayitien, Mouvement paysan papaye (MPP) and Mouvement paysan national du congrès papaye (MPNKP) – are mobilised at all levels to oppose the military intervention plan. They are supported by international solidarity organisations and, of course, by La Via Campesina, which launched a campaign of solidarity with the struggle of the Haitian people at the end of 2023. In this context, CETIM has supported the advocacy efforts of Haitian peasants organisations at UN human rights bodies. The social struggle in Haiti also requires the creation of a balance of power at international level. And the UN, with all its limitations and shortcomings, continues to be a prime battleground.

As part of the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council, CETIM and Haitian peasant organisations presented a report on the human rights situation in the country to shed light on the situation. The report explains the colonial origins of the current crisis, as well as the history of foreign interference, and puts forward a series of concrete demands and requests to the Human Rights Council.

In addition, Micherline Islanda Aduel, representative of Haitian peasant organisations, under the auspices of CETIM and FIAN International, addressed the plenary session of the Human Rights Council during a general debate on the situation in Haiti. In her speech (available on our Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/MmprqycB5lg), she stressed the need to “allow legitimate democratic institutions, social movements and political organisations to take the necessary steps to put the country back on the road to peace and democracy”.

The main demands presented to the UN centred on the rejection of imperialist military intervention, respect for Haiti’s independence and territorial integrity, and the need to ensure the participation of social movements in the future democratic transition process. Attention was also focused on the situation in rural areas, which are particularly affected by the situation. Reviving agricultural production, while protecting the rights of peasants and rural populations in the light of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, is a fundamental priority. In this sense, the Declaration can serve as a compass, as well as a political and legal lever to serve the interests of the working classes, with a view to rebuilding the country on the basis of social and climate justice.

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Micherline also spoke at a public conference in Geneva entitled “Anticolonial struggles in the Global South: A peasant perspective”, alongside peasant representatives from Niger, Colombia and Palestine. The aim of the event was to discuss peasant perspectives on the links between anti-colonial struggles and struggles for food sovereignty.