Security Council resolution 1608 (2005) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)]
Symbol: S/RES/1608(2005)
Date: 2005-06-22
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/60 [137] UN STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI
S/60 [138] HAITI--POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Subjects: UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti|Haiti. Transitional Government|Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative|Charter of the United Nations (1945). Chapter VII|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|ELECTIONS|INTERNAL SECURITY|POLICE|HAITI|HAITI QUESTION|RECOMMENDATIONS|ELECTION VERIFICATION|RAPID DEPLOYMENT FORCES|MILITARY PERSONNEL|JUDICIAL SYSTEM|CORRECTIONAL SYSTEMS|CIVILIAN PERSONS|FINANCIAL RESOURCES|DONOR COUNTRIES|MILITARY REFORM|INTERIM GOVERNMENTS|AIR TRANSPORT|CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION|HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS|MILITARY DEMOBILIZATION|FUNDS|TECHNICAL COOPERATION|INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS|PLEDGING CONFERENCES|INFORMATION EXCHANGE|CAPACITY BUILDING|DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS|BRETTON WOODS INSTITUTIONS|PUBLIC RELATIONS|SEX CRIMES|GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE|TROOP-CONTRIBUTING STATES|CODES OF CONDUCT|MILITARY DISCIPLINE|CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION|PUNISHMENT|REPORT PREPARATION|PERIODIC REPORTS
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: ALGERIA
vote: yes
country: ARGENTINA
vote: yes
country: BENIN
vote: yes
country: BRAZIL
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: DENMARK
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GREECE
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: PHILIPPINES
vote: yes
country: ROMANIA
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/1608 (2005)
               Security Council                                               Distr.: General
                                                                              22 June 2005




               Resolution 1608 (2005)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 5210th meeting, on
               22 June 2005

                    The Security Council,
                    Reaffirming resolutions 1542 (2004) and 1576 (2004), and recalling resolution
               1529 (2004), relevant statements by its President, as well as the Security Council’s
               report on its Mission to Haiti from 13 to 16 April 2005 (S/2005/302),
                     Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial
               integrity and unity of Haiti,
                     Stressing that free and fair elections, open to all political parties that have
               renounced violence and with the broadest possible participation of the Haitian
               people, must take place in 2005 in accordance with the established timetable, and
               that the democratically elected authorities must take office on 7 February 2006,
                     Affirming its determination to ensure a secure and stable environment in which
               the electoral process can take place,
                     Condemning all violations of human rights, including lack of due process and
               prolonged pretrial detentions, and urging the Transitional Government of Haiti to
               take all necessary measures to put an end to impunity and to ensure progress in the
               respect for the rule of law, including by pursuing reforms in the Haitian National
               Police (HNP) and in the justice and correctional systems,
                     Reaffirming the importance of appropriate expertise on issues relating to
               gender in peacekeeping operations and post-conflict peacebuilding in accordance
               with resolution 1325 (2000), recalling the need to address violence against women
               and children, and encouraging the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
               (MINUSTAH) as well as the Transitional Government of Haiti to actively address
               these issues,
                     Underlining that pervasive poverty is an important root cause of unrest in
               Haiti, and stressing that there can be no genuine stability without strengthening its
               economy, including through a long-term strategy for sustainable development and
               the strengthening of Haitian institutions,
                   Welcoming the approval of a National Programme on Disarmament,
               Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) by the Transitional Government of Haiti,
               the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and MINUSTAH, and

05-39557 (E)
*0539557*

S/RES/1608 (2005)


               emphasizing that its implementation is imperative for broader stabilization efforts to
               succeed,
                     Recalling that security, political reconciliation, and economic reconstruction
               efforts remain key to the stability of Haiti,
                     Noting that the Haitian people must take responsibility for achieving stability,
               social and economic development and law and order,
                     Determining that the situation in Haiti continues to constitute a threat to
               international peace and security,
                    Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, as described in
               Section 1 of operative paragraph 7 of resolution 1542 (2004),
                    1.   Decides to extend the mandate of MINUSTAH, as contained in resolution
               1542 (2004), until 15 February 2006, with the intention to renew for further periods;
                   2.     Welcomes the Report of the Secretary-General of 19 May 2005 on
               MINUSTAH (S/2005/313), and supports the recommendations of the Secretary-General as outlined in paragraphs 44-52, as follows:
                    (a)   a temporary increase, during the electoral period and subsequent political
                          transition, of 750 personnel to MINUSTAH’s currently authorized
                          military strength in order to create a rapid reaction force in Haiti to
                          provide increased security, in particular in and around Port-au-Prince;
                    (b)   an increase of 50 military personnel in order to create a sector
                          headquarters in Port-au-Prince, with the understanding that MINUSTAH
                          will optimize at all levels the coordination between military and police
                          components to ensure efficient and better-integrated operations,
                          including by posting UN staff civilian police officers in this
                          headquarters;
                    (c)   a temporary increase, during the electoral period and subsequent political
                          transition, of 275 personnel to the current strength of MINUSTAH’s
                          civilian police component to provide increased security;
                    (d)   an assessment of the Haitian judiciary and correctional systems including
                          to explore possibilities for greater international community support, and
                          a more active role by MINUSTAH, to be submitted to the Security
                          Council as soon as possible;
                     3.   Decides that for a temporary period MINUSTAH will consist of a
               military component of up to 7,500 troops of all ranks and of up to 1,897 Civilian
               Police. Requests the Secretary-General to devise, in a timely manner, a progressive
               drawdown strategy of the MINUSTAH force levels for the post-election period, in
               accordance with the situation on the ground;
                     4.   Requests the Secretary-General to share with the Council the overall plan
               for the successful holding of elections in Haiti, including voter registration, security,
               logistics, civic education, observation, and detailed budget information; urges
               Haitian authorities to increase and accelerate efforts to prepare for and ensure the
               smooth conduct of the elections; and calls upon international donors to provide the
               necessary resources to support the electoral process;




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     5.    Requests also the Secretary-General to share with the Council the reform
plan for the HNP, formulated by MINUSTAH and the Haitian authorities, that
includes the anticipated size, standards, implementation timetable, and resources;
      6.   Requests that MINUSTAH concentrate the use of its resources, including
civilian police, towards increasing security and protection during the electoral
period; including a review, as appropriate, of the rules of engagement of the
individual civilian police officers;
      7.   Requests that MINUSTAH and the Haitian authorities take all necessary
steps to achieve optimal coordination between MINUSTAH’s civilian police and the
HNP;
     8.    Reaffirms MINUSTAH’s authority to vet and certify new and existing
HNP personnel for service, and urges the Transitional Government of Haiti to
ensure that HNP personnel do not serve unless certified and to ensure that technical
advice and recommendations provided by MINUSTAH are fully implemented by
Haitian authorities at all levels without delay;
      9.    Calls upon MINUSTAH to make the Joint Mission Analysis Cell
operational as soon as possible in order to pool and better use the information
available to the MINUSTAH military, police and civilian components; and also calls
for the use of MINUSTAH’s aviation assets in an efficient and effective manner in
support of security operations;
     10. Urges the Transitional Government to conduct thorough and transparent
investigations into cases of human rights violations, particularly those allegedly
involving HNP officers; requests that in order to support this effort MINUSTAH
make the Joint Special Investigation Unit operational as soon as possible;
      11. Welcomes the launching on 7 April 2005 of the “national dialogue” by
the Transitional Government of Haiti, and stresses that such a dialogue should serve
the long-term aim of national reconciliation and, in the shorter term, the holding of
credible and inclusive elections; urges the Transitional Government of Haiti to
redouble its efforts for this essential process and invites all Haitians to participate in
this dialogue without delay;
     12. Urges the Transitional Government of Haiti and MINUSTAH to begin
immediately effective implementation of the DDR programme and calls on all
Member States to provide timely financial, human and technical resources in
support of this programme;
      13. Renews its appeal for the accelerated disbursement of the funds pledged
by international financial institutions and donors at the July 2004 International
Donors Conference on Haiti; supports the Cayenne follow-up donor conference held
on 16 and 17 June 2005, in Montreal; and calls upon all donors to continue to assist
Haiti;
       14. Requests MINUSTAH to strengthen its capacity to implement quickimpact projects; and calls for increased coordination between the various
development actors in Haiti in order to ensure greater efficiency in development
efforts;




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                      15. Invites the Bretton Woods institutions to consider the issue of debt
               sustainability and the implications of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
               initiative for Haiti;
                    16. Urges MINUSTAH to urgently develop and implement a proactive
               communications and public relations strategy, in order to improve the Haitian
               population’s understanding of the mandate of MINUSTAH and its role in Haiti;
                     17. Welcomes efforts undertaken by MINUSTAH to implement the Secretary-General’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and to ensure full
               compliance of its personnel with the United Nations code of conduct, requests the
               Secretary-General to continue to take all necessary action in this regard and to keep
               the Council informed, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate
               preventive and disciplinary action to ensure that such acts are properly investigated
               and punished in cases involving their personnel;
                      18. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the
               effectiveness of the implementation of MINUSTAH’s mandate at least once every
               three months; requests further that the Secretariat keeps the Council members
               informed, on a regular basis, on the status of electoral preparations, including party
               and voter registration figures and other relevant data;
                     19. Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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