The UN special envoy for Haiti said Wednesday it had heard a “warning” from the United States and Canada about the possible leadership of an international force to help Haiti fight gangs, but not an “equivocal ‘no’.”
Helen La Lime expressed the hope that the UN Security Council will deal positively with the issue of the troop requested by the Haitian government. She said at a new conference that an international force would be a partner with the Haitian National Police “which would crack down on the gangs.”
She spoke a day after the United States and Canada showed no interest in deploying their security personnel at a Security Council meeting, despite renewed appeals from the United Nations and Haiti for help to stem the escalation of violence in the western hemisphere’s poorest nation break up. They are the two countries most frequently cited as possible leaders of an international force in Haiit.
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US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council that “Haiti needs to address its ongoing insecurity challenges,” and he encouraged the international community to support their efforts.
Canada’s UN Ambassador Bob Rae said the world needs to learn from all previous military interventions in Haiti that have failed to bring long-term stability to the country. He said it was critical that moving forward, solutions “must be led by Haitians and Haitian institutions.”
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the country’s Council of Ministers sent an urgent appeal Oct. 7 calling for “the immediate deployment of a specialized force in sufficient numbers” to end the crisis, which is being caused in part by the “criminal actions of armed gangs.” ” was caused. ”
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres published the appeal and La Lime reiterated it on Tuesday as no country has come forward more than three months later.
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La Lime said there was widespread concern in the Security Council about the deteriorating security situation in Haiti.
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She told the council on Tuesday that “gang-related violence has reached levels not seen in years”.
Homicides and kidnappings rose for the fourth straight year in 2022, she said. She said last year’s 1,359 kidnappings were more than double the number in 2021, averaging about four a day. The number of killings rose by a third to 2,183, affecting all sections of society including a former presidential candidate and the director of the National Police Academy.
La Lime said the unanimous adoption by the Security Council in October of a resolution imposing sanctions on individuals and groups who threaten peace and stability in Haiti, starting with a powerful gang leader, and sanctions imposed by the US and Canada are having an impact .
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On the political front, she said a “National Consensus Agreement for an Inclusive Transition and Transparent Elections,” signed on December 21 by a broad spectrum of representatives from politics, civil society, religion, labor unions and the private sector, is a positive development. calling for elections by February 2024.
But she stressed on Wednesday that the crucial missing element was a specialized international military contingent to support the police.
In the Security Council, “there is a lot of concern and I think it recognizes that help is needed,” La Lime said. “Sanctions continue to do their job and it is recognized that it is time to sit down and address this force issue. So my hope is that the Security Council will do that.”
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