1.5 The UN and UNDP in Haiti

The Covid-19 pandemic affected Haiti since the first quarter of 2020 in the midst of this socio-political crisis. Before Covid-19, Haiti had already been severely affected by another epidemic, cholera in 2010.34 This crisis has since been brought under control by the authorities with 37 cases in 2018 and none in 2019.35 In 2020, faced with the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the Government took numerous measures to contain the spread of the virus in order to mitigate the risks that compromise the country’s security and sustainable development objectives. With the support of international partners, the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) have undertaken socio-economic impact studies of Covid-19. At the same time, the MPCE and the MEF produced a note on the post-Covid-19 economic recovery plan, the PREPOC 2020-2022, which serves as a framework for the 2020-2021 budget. PREPOC has five priority pillars: i) Economic diversification and acceleration of growth focused on agriculture, industry, tourism and digitalization; ii) Development of basic infrastructure and energy services; iii) Support for SMEs and job creation; iv) Development of human capital and social inclusion; v) Building resilience to natural shocks.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was established in 2004 to restore security and stability, support the political process, strengthen government institutions and rule of law structures, and promote and protect human rights. The mission had a directed military component led by the Brazilian Army. In 2017, the United Nations Security Council, in resolution 2350, decided to end the MINUSTAH on 15 October 2017, transitioning to a smaller peace monitoring mission, the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti, MINUJUSTH. This aims to support government efforts to strengthen the power of legal institutions, support the strengthening of Haitian National Police and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting and analysis. MINUJUSTH was to complete its term in February 2019 but was extended until 15 October 2019, then ending 15 consecutive years of peacekeeping operations in the country. The United Nations Security Council, in its resolution 2476 of 25 June 2019, created the Integrated Office of the United Nations in Haiti (BINUH). This special political mission works at strengthening political stability and good governance, the advancement of a peaceful and stable environment, in particular by supporting an inclusive inter-Haitian national dialogue, and the protection and promotion of human rights. The activities of the mission are integrated with those of the 19 United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in the country team. Currently, the work of the UN in Haiti is guided by two strategic documents, the 2017-2021 Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) of the UN country team (UNCT) and the integrated strategic frameworks (ISF) which connects the BINUH and the UNCT.

The UNDP country programme in Haiti (2017-2021) is part of the UN assistance for Haiti, defined in the UNSDF 2017-2021 which aligns with the national priorities as included in the strategic development plan of Haiti 2012-2030. UNDP’s interventions focus on three thematic areas, namely i) democratic governance and the rule of law; ii) poverty reduction and iii) vulnerability reduction and resilience building.

The programme has 57 active projects (some having been initiated during the previous cycle). The majority (27 projects) correspond to the area of vulnerability reduction and resilience building (Outcome 3), 15 projects are in the area of democratic governance (Outcome 1) and the rest, namely 15 projects, in the area of poverty reduction (Outcome 2). 84 percent of projects are executed directly by UNDP (DIM modality), and 16 percent of the projects are executed by national partners (NIM modality). Poverty reduction is the area that mobilizes the largest share of the financial resources of the programme, namely, $35.1 million representing

34 Nearly 10,000 dead and 760,000 people infected 35 Political and economic conditions in Haiti’ (2020), Congressional Research Service