BUENOS AIRES, Argentina –Haiti’s Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry has called on countries within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), “especially those who can” help deal with the ongoing socio-economic and political situation.
Haitian Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry (Left) greeted by Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez on his arrival at CELAC summit. (Photo credit: Gustavo Garello - stringer, AP)“As you all know, Haiti is going through a period of political turbulence and economic and social difficulty, aggravated by a climate of insecurity fueled by armed criminal groups. Their behavior is seriously disrupting the lives of peaceful citizens and my government’s efforts to restore democratic institutions,” Henry told the seventh summit of CELAC.
He said to deal with this situation, his administration urged the international community to participate in a specialized multinational force to help the Haitian security forces to fight against the proliferation of organized crime, the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition, and eradicate the gangs that have held the country hostage.
Henry recalled that the request was sent to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres and “reflected perfectly in the options presented in his letter of September 8, 2022 sent to the President of the Security Council”, with a view to encouraging states to participate in the initiative.
“I encourage CELAC countries who can, especially those who already know the field, to help us. It is not for us to redo what failed in the past and to start again with the UN formulas which consisted in coming to do the work in place of the Haitians.
“The new approach we favor is different. This time we are asking for robust support from brotherly countries to support the efforts of local security forces. We need materials, equipment and training for our law enforcement,” Henry said.
He said that the United Nations Security Council is debating the Haitian question and on Monday Guterres reiterated his urgent appeal to member states to make them understand the urgency of acting quickly to support the solutions chosen by Haitian actors.
At the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Helen La Lime, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti, said the country’s protracted political and humanitarian crises, marked by spiking levels of gang-related violence and a badly struggling national police force, were reversing crucial security and development strides made since the devastating 2010 earthquake.
“Years of hard-fought recovery gains are being undone, and Haitians are grappling with setting the country back on a path to democracy,” La Lime said, noting that more than 2,100 murders and an estimated 1,300 kidnappings were reported last year and gang violence overall reached levels not seen in decades.
She said turf wars involving two gang coalitions, namely the G9 coalition and G-Pep, reached unprecedented levels in several neighborhoods of Cité Soleil.
“This violence is part of well-defined strategies designed to subjugate populations and expand territorial control,” said La Lime, citing the deliberate killing of men, women and children with snipers positioned on rooftops.
