It’s no secret that gang violence and political instability are threatening the last vestiges of normalcy in many parts of Haiti and feeding a security and humanitarian crisis. Now, Finance Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert, sworn in on April 25 as the interim prime minister to lead the Transitional Presidential Council, faces the job of restoring order and salvaging the country’s democratic institutions. He also requires another crucial element to steer Haiti from ruin. William O’Neill, a United Nations expert on human rights in Haiti, told PassBlue that the presidential council will need the UN Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to square off against the gangs, who have taken over large portions of the capital of Port-au-Prince and forced tens of thousands people to flee to the countryside and beyond. When asked if the new council could bring calm to Haiti, O’Neill responded: “It cannot without the multinational support mission. No, not at all. That’s why you need the international force.”
Yet there was no word on the first day of the new council of immediate plans for the MSS, O’Neill said. In one positive sign, however, the United States Air Force landed two C-130 planes last week at Haiti’s international airport to augment the security personnel at the US embassy, according to the Southern Command.