This is not the first alarm signal from the United Nations (UN) about the terrible drift in Haiti, but it is sent at the heart of the country’s visit by the head of the international agency, Antonio Guterres .
“We must put Haiti on the map of international political life and put the drama of the Haitian people as (…) priority of the international community”thus pleaded, Saturday 1er July, the Secretary General of the United Nations, at the end of this trip of “solidarity” of a few hours. “I met Haitians and I felt all the exhaustion of a population that has been facing for too long a cascade of crises and unsustainable living conditions”he added, saying he had “listened to their call for help” for his first visit to the impoverished Caribbean country as head of the UN.
“Now is not the time to forget Haiti”he hammered, after meeting the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, leaders of various political parties and members of civil society.
Antonio Guterres in particular urged the Security Council, which is due to discuss the situation again in July, “to authorize the immediate deployment of a robust international security force”.
A call that went unheeded
In October 2022, he relayed this call from Ariel Henry for a non-UN force intended to support a police force overwhelmed by gang violence which continues to spread. But nine months later, the appeal has gone unheeded. While a few countries have said they are ready to participate, none has volunteered to lead such an operation in a country scalded by multiple foreign interventions.
“I call on the States which have the capacity to provide a robust security force to have no further hesitation and to be ready to follow a decision of the Security Council”insisted Antonio Guterres. “Every day counts. If we don’t act now, the instability and violence will have a lasting impact on generations of Haitians.”he further pleaded.
Many UN officials have succeeded in recent months to describe the nightmare experienced by the Haitians: snipers on the roofs, kidnappings, schools targeted…
“Port-au-Prince is surrounded by armed gangs blocking the main roads that lead to the North and South departments, which control access to water, food and health care”was alarmed, Saturday, the secretary general.
“Generalized sexual violence”
He condemned “in the strongest terms the widespread sexual violence used by armed gangs as a weapon to instil fear”. Words that echo the “horrors” described this week by the boss of Unicef, Catherine Russell, speaking of a situation “never worse than today”.
The World App
The Morning of the World
Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed
Download the app
“An 11-year-old girl told me in the sweetest voice that five men grabbed her in the street. Three raped her. She was eight months pregnant when we spoke, and gave birth a few days later.”she said.
And nearly half of the population, or 5.2 million people, need humanitarian assistance, including nearly three million children.
But humanitarian aid is not enough to meet these needs. Again, Antonio Guterres appealed to the international community: “It’s a question of solidarity, but it’s also a question of moral justice. »
No election since 2016
He also called for a return “to the democratic order as soon as possible”asking everyone to “going beyond personal interests and making concessions in order to facilitate the emergence of a common vision and a viable and credible electoral path”.
No election has been held since 2016, and Ariel Henry, appointed prime minister just 48 hours before the last president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July 2021, faces questions about his legitimacy.
After Haiti, Antonio Guterres goes to Trinidad and Tobago for the summit of the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), in which the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken must also participate to discuss the Haitian file.