The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Sunday night to authorize the immediate deployment of an international military force to Haiti for three months to restore order.
| An eventful Sunday for Haiti. |
The vote came minutes after the Pentagon announced that U.S. Marines had arrived in Haiti as the vanguard of an international security force. The Marines are expected to be joined in the coming days by soldiers from France, Canada and several Caribbean nations.
| Wonder if the French force violates the Monroe Doctrine? |
The resolution states that "the situation in Haiti constitutes a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the Caribbean, especially through the potential outflow of people to other states in the subregion." It authorizes "a multinational interim force" to remain in the lawless Caribbean nation for "not more than three months" to help restore stability and security and to support "the constitutional political process underway in Haiti." The Security Council will then be prepared to establish a U.N. peacekeeping force to remain in Haiti for a longer, unspecified period, it says. The council received a letter from Haiti's Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre, who replaced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Sunday morning after he fled the country, requesting an international force, said China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, the current council president. The force would also facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid and international assistance to the Haitian police "in order to establish and maintain public safety and law and order and to promote and protect human rights," according to the resolution.
| That would be a first in Haiti. |
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was in the Security Council chamber for the vote, said later that it sent a signal to the Haitian people "that the international community has stepped to one side to avoid getting a mess on their shoes not forgotten them." Annan was asked why Haitians should expect a better outcome now than 10 years ago, when U.S. forces restored Aristide's elected government to power. "This time," said Annan, "I hope the international community is not going to put a band-aid on, and that we are not only going to help stabilize the current situation, but assist the Haitians over the long haul and really help them pick up the pieces and build a stable country."
| That would be the biggest magic trick in a while. |
|