The special representative of the U.N. secretary general wants the National Police to carry out operations in conjunction with the MINUSTAH (U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti). According to diplomat Juan Gabriel Valdes, the operations carried out by the National Police are not always good, just as MINUSTAH should not carry out operations without the presence of the National Police. MINUSTAH chief Valdes recalls the agreement that was reached between the leadership of the National Police and the chief of the CIVPOL, which foresees joint and coordinated operations between the forces of order. Ambassador Valdes explains as follows:
The chief of the CIVPOL and the chief of the Haitian National Police, PNH, agreed that all PNH or CIVPOL or MINUSTAH operations that involve measures or decisions that put the lives of soldiers, policemen, civilians in danger should be coordinated and carried out together.
I believe we have got to a point where it is evident that the effectiveness of these operations depends a lot on the capacity for coordination between the diverse corps, CIVPOL, MINUSTAH and the Haitian National Police. I must say that our experience shows that each time we had success, it was a result of coordination between these three sectors.
As far as we are concerned, our mandate is very clear. We have got to work alongside the PNH. On a practical level, this means that the National Police and MINUSTAH should work together. Operations that are a surprise to our colleagues in the PNH would not be good operations. And PNH operations that come as a surprise to us are not good operations, either. And each time we have these kinds of surprises, we also have effects after these operations. This is the reason why I underscore the need to continue to work together, to share information, to make plans together and to act together.