International Peace Cooperation Assignment in Haiti

Haiti

Capital:Port-au-Prince

Japan-Haiti Relations (go to the site of the Minstry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)

Following the earthquake occurred on 12 January 2010, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1908 on19 January to increase overall force levels of MINUSTAH (additional 2.000 military officers and 1,500 polices officers) in order to support the immediate recovery, reconstruction, and stability efforts in the country.

Subsequently, responding to the request from the UN , the Government of Japan established "the International Peace Cooperation Assignments Plan for Haiti," and "the Cabinet Order Concerning International Peace Cooperation Corps for Haiti" at the Cabinet meeting on 5 February 2010 to dispatch Japanese personnel to MINUSTAH ,imcluding the Self-Defense Force Engineering Unit.

Engineering Unit

In February 2010, Japan dispatched the SDF Engineering Unit (up to 350 personnel) to support the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. They were engaged in the operations including removing debris on the streets and from the collapsed government buildings, constructing and repairing camps for IDP s, repairing the road to the national border with the Dominican Republic, and building orphan homes, especially in Port-au-Prince, the worst-hit city.

Considering the recovery situation in Haiti, the Engineering Unit began to withdraw in the end of 2012. By the end of February 2013, all the personnel have returned to Japan.

Teaching how to operate vehicles

Teaching how to operate vehicles

With the locals at a school

Pulling down buildings

At a dried-up river

Loading rubble onto a dump truck

Staff Officers

Japan dispatched two staff officers to the MINUSTAH headquaters in Part-au-Prince from February 2010 to January 2013 to engage in planning and voordination of the recovery operations conducted by MINUSTAH .

On-Site Reports from Our Peacekeepers:

• Takahiro Watanabe's Report from Haiti (October 2012)
• Kiyoshi Okuma's Report from Haiti (August 2012)
• Hiroshi Nakao's Report from Haiti (March 2012)
• Tadao Sekiguchi's Report from Haiti (January 2012)

Liaison and Coordination Personnel

Liaison and coordination personnel of the Cabinet Office were dispatched to Haiti to facilitate communication and coordination of the Japanese staff officers and engineering unit with relevant organizations in Haiti for their smooth and effective performance of duties.

On-Site Reports from Our Peacekeepers:

• Shindo Hayase's Report from Haiti (September 2011)
• Hidehiro Hamahata's Report from Haiti (August 2011)

Deployment Map of PKO mission in Haiti