Amid intensified security operations against gangs, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé intends to combine crackdowns with reinsertion. However, the latest reactivation of the CNDDR is met with skepticism.
The Haitian government is attempting to implement its strategy to combat insecurity. On Wednesday, the head of government, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, chaired a “high-level” meeting at the Prime Minister’s office with the National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement and Reinsertion (CNDDR) and the country’s main international partners.
The initiative comes at a time when security forces are intensifying operations aimed at regaining control of areas occupied by armed groups. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office, the government intends to “consolidate this dynamic through complementary action, based on a clear link between the crackdown on criminal activities and a rigorous reinsertion policy.”
The Prime Minister was categorical: “the reinsertion policy is neither a concession nor a sign of weakness on the part of the State.” Yet, the announcement of this new strategy comes at a time when the CNDDR, reactivated only a few weeks ago by the Council of Ministers, is struggling to convince people of its ability to deliver tangible results.
Established on August 28, 2006, nearly twenty years ago, the National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement and Reinsertion had already been reactivated by a presidential decree on March 8, 2019. It is clear that it has failed to fulfill its primary mission: curbing the proliferation of weapons and gangs on national territory. Today, Port-au-Prince and other regions of the country remain largely under the control of powerful armed coalitions.
The government has, however, recently published a decree appointing new members to lead this structure. The CNDDR is now composed of Guerda Prévilon as coordinator, assisted by Michel Jean Marie Léonidas and Gardy Maisonneuve as members. It is precisely to Guerda Prévilon that the Prime Minister has now entrusted the mission of “defining an integrated operational strategy, including the establishment of secure reception facilities, training programs, and socio-economic support systems.”
The head of government, who also serves as president of the Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN), firmly reminded that “the enlistment of young people within armed groups constitutes a serious attack on public order and the future of the Nation.” He stressed that the State “cannot tolerate an entire generation being led astray from its destiny by organized criminal networks.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Me Patrick Pélissier, who attended the meeting alongside the Minister of the Interior, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, received clear instructions to strengthen public action against crime. The deployment of judicial hubs across the national territory is expected to support this demand for firmness.
On the side of international partners, the displayed mobilization contrasts with the slow disbursements observed in the past. The head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Carlos Ruiz Massieu, as well as representatives from IOM, UNICEF, the European Union, UNDP, UNESCO, and UNOPS, “took note of this direction and reiterated their readiness to support the Haitian State, respecting its priorities and sovereignty.”
Behind the proactive statements, the question remains: how will the CNDDR succeed where it has failed in the past? Disarming armed gangs, some of which are better equipped than the police, requires colossal resources and unwavering political will. Reinsertion programs, a recurring promise from successive governments, require reception facilities and socio-economic follow-up that Haiti does not currently posses
The government claims it wants to “offer credible alternatives” to young people exposed to the influence of gangs, “through structured reinsertion programs aimed particularly at children, adolescents, and women.” This is a commendable approach on paper, but one that will have to contend with the distrust of a population weary of decades of violence and impunity.
The government, at any rate, displays its determination: “the State is fully committed to restoring republican order, protecting the population, and guaranteeing that no one can place themselves above the law.”
