Foreign relations of Haiti
Encyclopedia
Haiti
was one of the original members of the League of Nations
and was one of the original members of the United Nations
and several of its specialized and related agencies. It is also a founding member of the Organization of American States
. It maintains diplomatic relations with 37 countries, mostly in Europe
and Latin America
. Haiti also has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China
, commonly known as Taiwan
, instead of the People's Republic of China
. Taiwan is one of Haiti's major trading partners and the two countries maintain very friendly relations. Haiti has also re-established very warm relations with Cuba
in which a major act of bilateral cooperation has resulted in Cuba's large contribution of doctors to the country. The Haitian government has publicly shown admiration to Fidel Castro
and his administration
.
The international community rallied to Haiti's defense during the 1991-94 period of illegal military rule. Thirty-one countries participated in the U.S.-led Multinational Force (MNF) which, acting under UN auspices, intervened in September 1994 to help restore the legitimate government and create a secure and stable environment in Haiti. At its peak, the MNF included roughly 21,000 troops, mostly Americans, and more than 1,000 international police monitors. Within six months, the troop level was gradually reduced as the MNF transitioned to a 6,000 strong peacekeeping force, the UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). UNMIH was charged with maintaining the secure environment, which the MNF had helped establish, as well as nurturing Haiti's new police force through the presence of 900 police advisors. A total of 38 countries participated in UNMIH.
In order to spur Haiti's social and economic recovery from three years of de facto military rule and decades of misrule before that, international development banks and donor agencies pledged in 1994 to provide over US$2 billion in assistance by 1999. Disbursements were largely conditioned on progress in economic reform. Parliamentary inaction, principally as a result of the political struggles and gridlock that plagued Haiti since 1996, resulted in the blockage of much of this assistance as disbursement conditions were not met. The electoral crisis that has brewed in the aftermath of the May 21, 2000 local and parliamentary elections has resulted in the blockage of most multilateral and bilateral assistance. Major donors are led by the United States
, with the largest bilateral assistance program, and also include Canada
, France
, Germany
, Japan
, Republic of China (Taiwan)
. Multilateral aid is coordinated through an informal grouping of major donors under the auspices of the World Bank
which, in addition to the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB) and the European Union
, is also a major source of Haitian development assistance.
Visas are required for citizens of Colombia
and Panama
due to the actions of nationals of those two countries in using Haiti as a drop-off point for narcotic drugs bound for the United States
. Panama's proximity to Colombia and their thriving off-shore banking industry has lured many traffickers to use that nation and Haiti as bases for their activities. Citizens of the Dominican Republic
also require visas to visit Haiti, not only due to the hostile, sometimes volatile relations between both nations, but also because since the late 1990s, the Dominican Republic has become another base for illicit drugs bound for the United States, which usually enter illegally via Puerto Rico
. Once in Puerto Rico, drugs can easily reach the United States due to the absence of both immigration and customs between that island and the mainland.
Disputes - international:
claims US-administered Navassa Island
Illicit drugs:
major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine
en route to the US and Europe
. Canada participated in various international interventions in Haiti between 1994 and 2004, and continues to provide substantial aid the Haiti, the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=3356
peace keeping mission Praising the work of the Chilean policemen in Haiti, National Police official Javiera Blanco said, "Even though today there is a need for the key presence of this mission, which is in mid term, the exit should be prepared for, considering that the country (Haiti) must take those responsibilities and build their capacities to do what is done by our mission." The police are planned to withdraw from Haiti in 2011.
and related Haitian-targeted ethnic cleansing campaigns by the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship. The periodic influxes of Haitian economic (and, in times past, political) migrants across the border have also strained relations between the two countries at various recent times.
and Jamaica has an honorary consul in Port-au-Prince
, Haiti.
In January, 2007, Haitian President René Préval
, made a four-day working visit to Jamaica. At a press conference, Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced that a Joint Jamaica/Haiti Commission would be convened later that year.
to immigrate into the U.S. (averaging over 13,000 annually in fiscal year 1999-2003), there is a flow of illegal migrants. Over 100,000 undocumented Haitian migrants were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard in the past two decades, particularly during the 1991-94 period of illegal military rule when more than 67,000 migrants were interdicted. Since the return of the legitimate government in 1994, the interdiction of illegal migrants by U.S. Coast Guard vessels has decreased dramatically, averaging fewer than 1,500 annually. Neighboring Caribbean countries, particularly The Bahamas, continue to interdict Haitian migrants as well. The prospect remains, however, for the renewal of higher flows of illegal migrants, particularly under conditions of political unrest or further economic downturn.
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
was one of the original members of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
and was one of the original members of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and several of its specialized and related agencies. It is also a founding member of the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
. It maintains diplomatic relations with 37 countries, mostly in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Haiti also has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, commonly known as Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, instead of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Taiwan is one of Haiti's major trading partners and the two countries maintain very friendly relations. Haiti has also re-established very warm relations with Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in which a major act of bilateral cooperation has resulted in Cuba's large contribution of doctors to the country. The Haitian government has publicly shown admiration to Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
and his administration
Communist Party of Cuba
The Communist Party of Cuba is the governing political party in Cuba. It is a communist party of the Marxist-Leninist model. The Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the Party to be the "leading force of society and of the state"...
.
The international community rallied to Haiti's defense during the 1991-94 period of illegal military rule. Thirty-one countries participated in the U.S.-led Multinational Force (MNF) which, acting under UN auspices, intervened in September 1994 to help restore the legitimate government and create a secure and stable environment in Haiti. At its peak, the MNF included roughly 21,000 troops, mostly Americans, and more than 1,000 international police monitors. Within six months, the troop level was gradually reduced as the MNF transitioned to a 6,000 strong peacekeeping force, the UN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). UNMIH was charged with maintaining the secure environment, which the MNF had helped establish, as well as nurturing Haiti's new police force through the presence of 900 police advisors. A total of 38 countries participated in UNMIH.
In order to spur Haiti's social and economic recovery from three years of de facto military rule and decades of misrule before that, international development banks and donor agencies pledged in 1994 to provide over US$2 billion in assistance by 1999. Disbursements were largely conditioned on progress in economic reform. Parliamentary inaction, principally as a result of the political struggles and gridlock that plagued Haiti since 1996, resulted in the blockage of much of this assistance as disbursement conditions were not met. The electoral crisis that has brewed in the aftermath of the May 21, 2000 local and parliamentary elections has resulted in the blockage of most multilateral and bilateral assistance. Major donors are led by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with the largest bilateral assistance program, and also include Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Republic of China (Taiwan)
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
. Multilateral aid is coordinated through an informal grouping of major donors under the auspices of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
which, in addition to the Inter-American Development Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
(IDB) and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, is also a major source of Haitian development assistance.
Visas are required for citizens of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
due to the actions of nationals of those two countries in using Haiti as a drop-off point for narcotic drugs bound for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Panama's proximity to Colombia and their thriving off-shore banking industry has lured many traffickers to use that nation and Haiti as bases for their activities. Citizens of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
also require visas to visit Haiti, not only due to the hostile, sometimes volatile relations between both nations, but also because since the late 1990s, the Dominican Republic has become another base for illicit drugs bound for the United States, which usually enter illegally via Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Once in Puerto Rico, drugs can easily reach the United States due to the absence of both immigration and customs between that island and the mainland.
Disputes - international:
claims US-administered Navassa Island
Navassa Island
Navassa Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea, claimed as an unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States, which administers it through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Haiti, which claims to have had sovereignty over Navassa since 1801, also claims the island...
Illicit drugs:
major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
en route to the US and Europe
Canada
During the unsettled period from 1957 to 1990, Canada received many Haitian refugees, who now form a significant minority in QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Canada participated in various international interventions in Haiti between 1994 and 2004, and continues to provide substantial aid the Haiti, the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=3356
Chile
Chile sent 650 peacekeeping troops to the island as part of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
peace keeping mission Praising the work of the Chilean policemen in Haiti, National Police official Javiera Blanco said, "Even though today there is a need for the key presence of this mission, which is in mid term, the exit should be prepared for, considering that the country (Haiti) must take those responsibilities and build their capacities to do what is done by our mission." The police are planned to withdraw from Haiti in 2011.
Dominican Republic
Relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic vacillated between barely tolerable and potentially combustible throughout the history of both countries' existences, reaching their lowest points in the Haitian invasion of the Dominican Republic and the aftermath of the Parsley MassacreParsley Massacre
In October 1937, Dominican President Rafael Trujillo ordered the execution of the Haitian population living in the borderlands with Haiti. The violence resulted in the killing of 20,000On October 2, 1937, Trujillo had ordered 20,000 Haitian cane workers executed because they could not roll the "R"...
and related Haitian-targeted ethnic cleansing campaigns by the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship. The periodic influxes of Haitian economic (and, in times past, political) migrants across the border have also strained relations between the two countries at various recent times.
Jamaica
Haiti has an embassy in Kingston, JamaicaKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
and Jamaica has an honorary consul in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Haiti.
In January, 2007, Haitian President René Préval
René Préval
René Garcia Préval is a Haitian politician and agronomist who was the President of the Republic of Haiti from 14 May 2006 to 14 May 2011. He previously served as President from February 7, 1996, to February 7, 2001, and as Prime Minister from February 1991 to October 11, 1991.-Early life and...
, made a four-day working visit to Jamaica. At a press conference, Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced that a Joint Jamaica/Haiti Commission would be convened later that year.
United States
Maintaining good relations with and fostering democracy in Haiti are important for many reasons, not least of which is the country's geographical proximity to the continental United States. In addition to the many Haitians who receive visasVisa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to immigrate into the U.S. (averaging over 13,000 annually in fiscal year 1999-2003), there is a flow of illegal migrants. Over 100,000 undocumented Haitian migrants were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard in the past two decades, particularly during the 1991-94 period of illegal military rule when more than 67,000 migrants were interdicted. Since the return of the legitimate government in 1994, the interdiction of illegal migrants by U.S. Coast Guard vessels has decreased dramatically, averaging fewer than 1,500 annually. Neighboring Caribbean countries, particularly The Bahamas, continue to interdict Haitian migrants as well. The prospect remains, however, for the renewal of higher flows of illegal migrants, particularly under conditions of political unrest or further economic downturn.