The Endurance of the "Trusteeship" story

[bcholmes]

The Trusteeship System was, by all accounts, successful. And even after the program became obsolete, a form of trusteeship was used in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, and Cambodia -- places where the collapse of order necessitated help from the international community to perform the basic functions of a government.

Haiti -- an independent sovereign nation and a United Nations member -- would not be eligible for trusteeship. But, as in those other cases, the U.N. mission can be broadened to coordinate the various international actors currently working in Haiti.

Instead of the ad-hoc system currently in place -- the United States controls the airport, the United Nations controls food distribution, and other responsibilities are divided in a scattershot fashion -- a form of trusteeship would allow the UN to coordinate assistance in an orderly and transparent fashion.

Other international actors could then be tasked with specific roles -- ranging from security and governance to economic development and the coordination of international aid.

The goal is simple: Provide Haitians with a legitimate, functional state -- one capable of managing the day-to-day tasks of government and providing security, economic stability, and social services.

This won't work without the Haitian people and their elected leaders -- it must be done with them, not to them.

— "Place Haiti under 'trusteeship'", Senator Chris Dodd (D)

Right. Because the UN operations in Haiti, to date, have worked out so well.