ARTICLE - COMMISSION - MILITARY STUDY

STATE COMMISSION FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MILITARY COMPONENT OF THE PUBLIC FORCE
(Haiti Libre) -

A presidential decree, dated December 2 and published this Tuesday, December 6, confirms the creation of a commission to study the issue of an Armed Forces of Haiti. The "State Commission for the organization of the military component of the public force" is composed of seven members. They will be responsible for, among other things, identifying the resources necessary for the operation of this component, rules and procedures for the management of resources, the mission and size of the new national force...

In Article 1 it states that the Commission will consult various sectors of the national life including that of the ... Parliament, civil society, professional associations, political parties, grassroots organizations and churches...

In Article 2 it states that the time allotted to the State Commission for the organization of the military component of the public force is 40 days. After this date they will have to submit to the president a plan establishing the organization of the military component for the Public Force.

It is specified in Article 4 of this decree that the State Commission for the organization of the military component of the public force is composed of Mr. Yvan Richard Maurasse, Secretary of State for National Defense, President, Mr Réginald Delva, Secretary of State for Public Security, Vice-President, Jean Bergenac Barrette, Recording Secretary, Dr. Georges Michel, member, Guy Noël, member, Jean-Thomas Cyprien, member, Gérard Gourges, member.

It is specified that the term of office for the State Commission of organization of the military component of the public force is for months from the date of publication of this Decree. Once established it has an authority, a complete autonomy to define the structure, organization, operation and a working plan. They can also make use of state officials, other nationalsl or foreign consultants to assist it in achieving their mandate.

It is said that the Haitian government will make available to the State Commission for the organization of the military component of the public force the material and logistical resources necessary to fulfill its mandate.

In his speech on the occasion of the Battle of Vertières the President of the Republic, Michel Martelly declared "I announce to the Haitian Nation and to the world, the creation of a civil Commission responsible for giving substance to the file of the new defense force of the Republic of Haiti. [...]

....The decree specifies the terms of reference of this new entity. I want to reassure everyone, .... that the civil Commission is subject to the requirement of democratic participation. Consultations will be conducted with all sectors of national life, civil society, the business sector, the Parliament, the legal community, political parties, grassroots organizations, churches, etc...

The objective is to re-design the Haitian Army, to reconcile it with the people, with the nation, with democratic modernity; to deploy an army of the 21st century adapted to our actual needs, relieved of all duties and repressive functions and oriented towards national development. [...]

For this preliminary work, I assign to the civil Commission a mandatory period of 40 days, so that I can, on January 1, 2012, another highly symbolic date in our history of free and sovereign people, present to the nation of Haiti, the roadmap traced from the meetings and talks."