Haitians went to the polls this week, two years after the insurgency of February 2004 against former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide that led to both the president's departure and the establishment of a transitional government backed by the United Nations.

Initial accounts suggest that the voting was fairly orderly, free of more than sporadic violence and marked by long line-ups, suggesting that the majority of the population saw the election as a new beginning.

Although the actual results remain unknown, these early reports are encouraging, as they suggest that the transition to a semblance of democratic rule that has eluded Haiti for so long has at least begun.

But much more work still needs to be done.

An election is an important step toward fulfilling a peaceful transition of power. But it is just that, a step. Without simultaneously committing to the even more ambitious task of building state institutions, steps towards democracy can be reversed.

The need to build and strengthen state institutions is great, indeed. For the last two years, Haiti has been the quintessential fragile state, one that has been plagued by violence. Although Haiti's human rights record has long been deplorable, this situation has further deteriorated under new types of pressure.

Since the insurgency of 2004, freedom of expression has continued to come under assault, criminal activity has become endemic, and little has been done to break the culture of impunity that has plagued Haiti for much of its history.

Those who are responsible for human rights violations, both past and present, have rarely been held accountable for their actions. Moreover, excessive use of force by police, arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment, and extrajudicial executions are all too frequent.

The lack of independence in terms of the judiciary also poses a serious dilemma.

All of these problems have been exacerbated by the worsening of the material conditions of the country. Most of Haiti lives in oppressive poverty, with a huge rift between the tiny elite and the bulk of the population.

Environmental degradation has contributed to massive soil erosion and physical degradation.

Drugs and easy access to small arms (estimates suggest that there are approximately 200,000 legal and illegal weapons currently in Haiti) have bolstered the general climate of insecurity that hangs over the country.

Overcoming these challenges will be difficult and protracted, to say the least. Previous attempts to strengthen the rule of law through reforms to the police, judicial and penal systems have proven unsuccessful. So, too, will new initiatives such as the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program if they do not treat access to arms as a symptom of larger political, cultural and economic problems.

Of course, there is nothing novel about these recommendations. Human rights and development non-governmental organizations (NGOS), international organizations, the Haitian Diaspora and individual experts have, for many years, been calling for a sustained international effort to reconstruct Haiti.

Still, fulfilling the objectives will present a formidable test for the new government. It will also be a costly endeavour, with a need for long-term commitment by foreign donor governments.

In this context, it would be counter-productive for the international community to interpret a peaceful election as the excuse that it needs to eschew dealing with Haiti. A strategy of avoidance -- although tempting, given the burden -- would, in all likelihood, exacerbate state and societal breakdown, and undo any gains that might have come about as a result of the election. This prospect would not only be detrimental to Haitians but to the wider notion of neighbourhood in the Americas.

Andrew F. Cooper is a distinguished research fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo.

Andrew S. Thompson was a panelist at CIGI's Canada in Haiti conference held in November 2005.

Summary - "For the last two years, Haiti has been the quintessential fragile state, one that has been plagued by violence."