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On Wednesday, July 13, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will vote on an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH) in Haiti. Since beginning a 2-year term on the UNSC, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) of Mexico has supported U.S.-backed initiatives that would extend BINUH’s occupation of Haiti. Mexico and the United States are “co-penholders” for this process, indicating the leadership role of the Mexican government in bringing forth this year’s UNSC resolution on Haiti. 

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) condemns in the strongest possible terms Mexico spearheading the renewal of the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH)’s mandate in Haiti. The Haitian people view BINUH’s presence as a foreign occupation that undercuts Haiti’s independence and sovereignty. In solidarity, BAP, along with other civil society organizations, delivered an open letter to President López Obrador deploring Mexico’s role in extending the UN occupation.

In this letter, we ask AMLO to reconsider Mexico’s role as a co-penholder (with the United States) of the UNSC mandate, effectively serving the interests of Western imperialism in Haiti. We argue that not only does the UN occupation deny the sovereignty of the Haitian people, but it has both increased violence and instability in the republic while undermining the goal of national independence and self-determination for all countries in the Americas.

AMLO has emerged as one of the more progressive voices in the hemisphere, ostensibly working towards more equitable relationships between the peoples and nations of the region. BAP was heartened by and commended AMLO’s decision not to attend last month’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, as a call for fair representation and recognition of the sovereignty of all nations. In this vein, we have asked AMLO if — for some reason — Haiti does not count among those countries whose sovereignty and independence should be respected.

Like Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2004, who displayed his “leadership” by spearheading military action during the 2004-17 UN occupation of Haiti (MINUSTAH), AMLO’s support of BINUH’s mandate will result in the Haitian people paying the price for others’ political gains. Unfortunately, this is all too common among so-called “progressive” and “leftist” politicians in the Americas, who conform to the U.S.-led imperialistic system that these UN occupations represent.

Instead, we ask AMLO to contribute toward ending the foreign control of Haiti. This would be a positive step toward allowing Haitian people to determine their own fate, reversing regional militarization, and facilitating the realization of the Americas as a Zone of Peace, as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States has called for.

We say No to Occupation. Yes to Self-Determination.

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Featured image is from Juvenal Balán