Haiti: UN mission denies responsibility for death of demonstrator

The United Nations mission in Haiti has categorically denied allegations that its forces had fired on a demonstration in the capital, during which one person died.

“Based on preliminary information, it appears that the death of the individual concerned in fact resulted from a wound to the head that was inflicted by a stone or similar blunt object,” the mission, known as MINUSTAH, said in news release.

The demonstration took place yesterday near the Cathedral of Port-au-Prince after the funeral of Reverend Gérard Jean-Juste.

The mission stressed that although its peacekeepers were present and fired in the air to disperse the crowd, their actions seem to have no link with the death of the demonstrator.

“The response of the peacekeepers concerned falls squarely within the established norms for the minimum use of force to be employed in such situations.”

MINUSTAH also rejected recent allegations that its security personnel entered various university campuses in the course of responding to recent demonstrations, reiterating that its standing instructions to its military and police personnel strictly forbid entry into such premises.

The mission was set up in 2004 to help re-establish peace after an insurgency forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile. It is tasked with, among others, helping to improve state administration and reforming the country’s judicial sector.