On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for international assistance to help Haitian police deal with the country’s “unprecedented” outbreak of violence in recent months.
“I have come here from Haiti, where the security situation is rapidly deteriorating, and humanitarian needs are soaring,” Guterres said in Trinidad and Tobago, where the Caricom summit for Caribbean countries was opening.
“I reiterate my call on all partners to increase support for Haiti’s national police — in the form of financing, training, or equipment,” the UN chief said.
Guterres visited Haiti over the weekend to highlight the country’s violence and turmoil, where he has been urging for a robust international effort to assist the country’s embattled police in combating numerous criminal gangs.
For months, he has been sounding the alarm about the situation in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, which has been plagued by spiraling violence, deteriorating public health, and political insecurity.
“We must collectively do more to help the Haitian people chart a path towards elections and a political solution,” Guterres said, calling for “a drastic improvement in the security situation.”
He said support for the police was needed to “dismantle the gangs that have created this unprecedented violence.”
UN experts have given increasingly pessimistic evaluations of the impact of gang shootings, kidnappings, and rapes on Haitians.
Following a visit to Port-au-Prince last week, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stated that the world was “failing the Haitian people.”
For nearly a year, Prime Minister Ariel Henry has sought international action, but no country has stepped forward, despite the fact that Brazil and Canada are the most interested in the discussions.
