The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on the situation in Haiti on April 22, 2024, at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Maria Isabel Salvador, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, on Monday stressed the need to improve the country’s security to enable further developments. political progress. (Manuel Elias/United Nations Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (Xinhua) — The United Nations special envoy for Haiti on Monday stressed the need to improve internal security to enable further political progress.
In a press conference at the Security Council, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, welcomed recent political developments in Haiti, particularly the establishment of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC).
“I urge all stakeholders in Haiti to implement as soon as possible the envisaged transitional governance arrangements, in particular the appointment of a transitional prime minister and government, and the prompt nomination of a transitional electoral council,” she said. said.
However, he said improving security was a prerequisite for further political progress.
Despite recent positive developments on the political front, a significant improvement in the security situation remains a prerequisite for further progress. Gang leaders and other spoilers have expressed their intention to violently disrupt the current political process, she said. “The need to support efforts to reestablish Haiti’s security cannot be overstated.”
President Salvador called for the urgent deployment of a multinational security assistance mission authorized by the Security Council in October 2023.
Haiti’s sanctions regime against gang forces is an effective tool to thwart destabilizing attempts by spoilers and criminals, working towards transparent politics and democratic progress, she added.
Approximately 2,500 people were killed or injured in gang violence in the first three months of 2024, making it the most violent quarter since BINUH’s human rights department began recording statistics in January 2022, she said. Stated.
The Haiti Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024 requires US$674 million, but is only 8.1 percent funded. However, she said the humanitarian situation continues to trend toward an unprecedented deterioration.
The number of people in need of assistance has continued to rise rapidly since the latest round of violence began. Since March 8, nearly 100,000 Haitians have left Port-au-Prince seeking safety and fleeing gang violence. Food insecurity also remains prevalent across the country, with half of the population suffering from severe food insecurity, she noted.
The multiple long-term political, security, and humanitarian crises that Haiti continues to face must be resolved together. Sustainable development will become a reality for the Haitian people only through an inclusive, participatory, reliable and transparent process that leads to new democratically elected governance, she said.
Mr. Salvador said the process facilitated by the Caribbean Community created an opportunity for a new transitional governance arrangement that would enable a Haitian-led and Haitian-owned political process that would lead to the organization of inclusive, participatory and credible elections. “I urge Haiti’s stakeholders to put aside their differences and deliver results for the Haitian people through the implementation of a sustainable, time-bound and commonly accepted roadmap.The international community We encourage them to continue to stand in solidarity with the Haitian people.” ■
Maria Isabel Salvador (on screen), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti, addresses a Security Council meeting via video link at UN Headquarters in New York, April 22, 2024. The United Nations’ top envoy to Haiti on Monday stressed the need to improve internal security to enable further political progress. (Eskinder Debebe/United Nations Photo/Handout via Xinhua News Agency)
