The United States is currently reassessing several aspects of its 

relationship with Haiti, based on concerns about how votes were counted 

in Haiti's May 2000 parliamentary and local elections. The International 

Criminal Investigative and Training Assistance Program terminated its 

assistance to the Haitian police because of congressional concerns related 

to events surrounding the May 2000 Haitian parliamentary and local 

elections. The Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance 

and Training stopped its assistance to the judicial sector because the 

United States and Haiti had not been able to negotiate an agreement for 

continuing this assistance effort.

U.S. Assistance Helped 

To help institutionalize democracy in Haiti, the United States provided 

to Improve Police and 

about $97 million in assistance from fiscal years 1995 through 2000 to help 

Haiti build its first civilian controlled police force, enhance some aspects of 

Judicial Sector, but 

the judicial sector, and improve the access of the population to justice. 

Major Shortcomings 

Despite some initial achievements, the Haitian police and judicial sector 

still suffer from major organizational problems.

Persist 

Assistance Helped to Build 

U.S. assistance sought to help Haiti create and strengthen a civilian 

Police Force

controlled police force that would be professional and respect the rights of 

the population. The United States provided about $70 million in fiscal 

years 1995 99 for equipment for the police, construction of the police 

academy, and police training. The Department of Justice's International 

Criminal Investigative Training and Assistance Program provided most of 

this assistance over $65 million. 

The U.S. assistance helped Haiti

  recruit an interim police force of about 4,000 police officers and U.N. 

police monitors to work with this force; 

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GAO 01 24  Foreign Assistance