2026-02-22

The PNH Directorate issued new disciplinary measures on February 21, banning the wearing of balaclava masks and hoods outside designated special operations contexts and reinforcing regulatory compliance requirements across the force. The ban addresses a documented accountability problem: balaclava-wearing by individual officers has been associated with extrajudicial operations and has complicated the identification of officers implicated in abuses. A recent BINUH-OHCHR report found that some police officers have summarily executed children accused of gang association, making individual officer identification a human rights monitoring priority. The Ministry of Defense issued a parallel advisory warning the public that all FAd'H communications are disseminated exclusively through certified Ministry channels and that recruitment calls for applications will be issued only through High Command messages. The advisory attributes the caution to the current high level of attention surrounding recruitment, suggesting that the FAd'H's visible training activity and fifth SABRE cohort departure have generated unofficial recruitment interest that the institution cannot verify or control. Taken together, the PNH balaclava ban and the MoD communications advisory indicate that both security institutions are managing the public-facing dimensions of reform. The balaclava ban, if enforced, directly addresses a visibility gap that OHCHR monitors have flagged as a structural obstacle to accountability. The MoD advisory signals institutional awareness that the FAd'H's rising public profile carries information environment risks that require active management. February 22, 2026 For international observers, the institutional reform signals matter because BINUH's refocused mandate emphasizes governance strengthening and human rights monitoring. The new BANUH mission and UNSOH standup both carry institutional interest in whether Haitian security forces are building accountable operational frameworks, not just tactical capacity. The balaclava ban gives BINUH a concrete reform measure to track in its monitoring reporting.