This week the Oregon-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti called attention to The United Nations Security Council mission to Haiti slated for April 13-16, 2005.
The IJDH noted, "the Council's agenda is already full with meetings with: 1) officials of the unconstitutional Interim Government; 2) groups that called for the overthrow of the elected government a year ago; and 3) officials of foreign governments that supported the overthrow, or officials of programs financed by these governments."
"All of these groups have a vested interest in the current illegal regime, and cannot effectively represent the vast majority of Haitians who opposed the February 2004 coup d'etat, and are suffering its consequences ."

The IJDH called on activists to exert pressure "to make sure that the Security Council meets directly with poor women, grassroots groups and victims of human rights violations."
Meanwhile, soldiers with the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) continue to work closely with Haitian police conducting brutal raids on the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.

A recent report from Harvard Law Student Advocates for Human Rights which does not question the legitimacy of the UN presence in Haiti nevertheless concludes, "MINUSTAH has provided cover for abuses committed by the HNP during operations in poor, historically tense Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Rather than advising and instructing the police in best practices, and monitoring their missteps, MINUSTAH has been the midwife of their abuses. In essence, MINUSTAH has provided to the HNP the very implements of repression. The report also attacked the unwillingness to protect civilians from political violence, saying, "the failure to do so when civilians beg for UN assistance is simply incomprehensible."

IJDH | UN Security Council to meet in Haiti | Shredding Haiti's Constitution: UN Betrayal in Port au Prince | Aristide: "You Call for my Return, I Hear Your Voices"