Short- and Long-term Effects of UN Reform Initiatives in Haiti

• In Event: New Directions in the Study of UN Peacekeeping

Abstract

What are the short- and long-term effects of UN-led justice and police reform on human security? The UN has invested considerable effort in helping states reform dysfunctional legal institutions necessary for legitimate law and order maintenance. These efforts compete for UN resources and attention with higher-priority goals like protecting civilians. The UN’s efforts in Haiti under the MINUJUSTH mission provide a unique real-time opportunity for social scientists to understand how judicial and police reform contribute to the protection of human security in a setting where civilian protection is imperative. This project assesses the effect of MINUJUSTH’s police and justice reforms on human security in Haiti by surveying adult participants in Haiti’s most populous and insecure city, Port-au-Prince. The survey asks respondents about their knowledge of the police and justice sectors; trust in these sectors; vulnerability to crime; and perceptions of the UN; and gauges how gender conditions these responses. Occurring in three waves between 2019 and 2021, this survey will assess the effects of the mission when active and for several years after withdrawal. Methodologically, this project joins a burgeoning literature that uses survey methods to study the effects of peace building at the micro-level. Theoretically, it unites presently separate conversations regarding the utility of reform programs and the capacity of UN missions to implement them successfully.

Author

• Gabriella Lloyd, University of Maryland, College Park