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1 1 (August 2, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveiao0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressionaI Research Sentk informing Ih legisIatve dIebate sne 1914 S August 2, 2022 Haiti: Political Conflict and U.S. Policy Overview Conflict and political fragility have plagued Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, for much of its history. Haiti improved governance prior to the 2010 earthquake, but progress since has been uneven. Democratic institutions remain weak and corruptible. Poverty remains extreme and economic disparity wide. Haiti's proximity to the United States, instability, and vulnerability to natural disasters have made relations with Haiti an ongoing policy issue for the U.S. government. A year after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and an August 2021 earthquake that killed 2,000 people, Haiti lacks an elected president, legislature, and mayors. No elections are scheduled to replace the expired terms of Haitian officials at any level of government. A political standoff between Prime Minister Ariel Henry's government and political and civil society leaders has occurred amid a worsening security crisis. The ongoing crises in Haiti are major concerns for the Biden Administration and many Members of Congress. U.S. policymakers have pushed for an inclusive, Haitian-led political accord leading to new elections and have increased security assistance for the Haitian police. Political Paralysis As in past periods when Haitian presidents failed to hold timely elections, former President Moise of the Haitian Tet Kale Party (PHTK) had been governing extra- constitutionally prior to his assassination. Moise failed to convene parliamentary elections due in 2019 and began ruling by decree in 2020. There was controversy over whether his term ended in February 2021 or February 2022. Moise, like some other Haitian politicians and business leaders, allegedly provided money and arms to gangs and other criminal groups in exchange for suppressing anti- government protests, according to Insight Crime. Following Moise's July 2021 assassination, the United States and other donors supported Henry's bid to serve as prime minister over other competitors. Shortly before the assassination, Moise had nominated Henry, a neurosurgeon, to be prime minister. The legislature lacked a quorum to consider him, however, and the president had not sworn him in. Henry's irregular path to his position and allegations of his possible involvement in Moise's assassination, a case that remains unresolved, have eroded his credibility. Henry has fired officials who have sought to question him about the case. Under Henry, inflation has further damaged the economy and insecurity has worsened. As of August 1, 2022, 1.4% of the population had been fully vaccinated against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to Johns Hopkins University. In September 2021, Henry and his supporters proposed that he name a provisional electoral council to convene elections and that he remain the single head of government until a new elected government takes office. He has yet to appoint that council, and many civil society and political actors within Haiti have opposed Henry's proposal. As an alternative to Henry's proposal, numerous civil society organizations and political parties, some in coalitions, have sought to form an interim government. After months of broad consultations, the Citizen Conference for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis (widely known as the Montana Group) came to an agreement in August 2021. The Montana Accord proposed a two-year interim government led by a president and prime minister, with oversight committees, to restore order, administer elections, and create a truth and justice commission to address past human rights violations. Although many civic leaders and political parties signed the Montana Accord, others did not (including some business groups, churches, and the PHTK and allied parties). Negotiations between Henry and the Montana Group have yet to bear fruit. In June 2022, both parties named negotiation commissions that began meeting in mid-July. Some observers favor a Henry-Montana Group agreement, but others warn such an agreement may not receive broad enough support among the Haitian people to be successful. Security C risis Violent gangs, some formerly tied to the PHTK, threaten to overwhelm the government with greater resources and weaponry. Gangs have exerted power and control over territory, access to fuel, and the delivery of humanitarian aid, challenging the authority of the Haitian National Police (HNP) and other state institutions. Since Moise's assassination, gangs have expanded their power, as evidenced by the October 2021 kidnapping of U.S. missionaries, hindering the HNP's ability to combat drug trafficking and other crimes. There are as many as 200 gangs in Haiti, and they control 60% of Port-Au-Prince, key ports, and roads, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). From January to May 2022, kidnappings rose by 36% and homicides by 17%, according to U.N. data; sexual violence is rampant. A wave of gang violence in Port-Au-Prince in mid-July resulted in more than 470 killings, according to the United Nations. Impunity prevails in Haiti's weak justice system. In addition to failing to resolve Moise's assassination, Haitian authorities have yet to arrest Jimmy Cherizier, a former HNP officer turned gang leader, or other Haitian officials implicated in the 2018 La Saline massacre of 71 people.

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