For U.S. security planners, the mission in Haiti couldn’t have been clearer. A primary task of the international force is to deploy in the Caribbean island nation to search, seize, and “kill” gang members, according to an early U.S. draft plan, known as a Concept of Operations, or CONOPS.
But the blunt U.S. language rattled some of its potential partners, particularly Canada, which has been working closely with the United States to draw up a detailed plan for ending Haiti’s heavily armed gangs’ reign of terror in Port-au-Prince and other parts of Haiti. Instead, they settled on slightly less provocative language. The Gang Suppression Force, according to a preliminary summary of the CONOPS obtained by Devex, “aims to neutralize, isolate, and deter armed gangs.”
The negotiation points to a larger question facing the United States, the United Nations, and other countries involved in planning to confront Haiti’s gangs. Is the UN-mandated force engaged in a largely law enforcement operation, with all the legal encumbrances that entails, or is it a classic armed conflict, which permits wider scope for lethal operations? The matter has particular sensitivity given the fact that so many of the gangs’ fighters are children.
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About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
