Antonio Guterres He put aside his usual cautious and thoughtful style, at least as far as the general crisis and institutional drift that Haiti is currently experiencing. After a lightning visit to Port-au-Prince, The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) has urged international intervention to restore order in the ailing Caribbean country.
Quite Several UN organizations are reporting on the dramatic situation in which the poorest country in the Latin American and Caribbean region finds itself. The FAO, for example, records that 5.2 million Haitians are suffering from hunger, almost half of the population. Add to that violence: more than 1,500 people were killed with firearms by the gangs that practically control the streets in the first half of 2023, and as if that wasn’t enough, Haiti suffered earthquakes and floods in June that killed dozens of victims.
Exactly, Guterres arrived in Haiti on July 1, in a manner that has not been publicly announced for security reasons, although there was an agenda already set and a proposal that has gained increasing momentum. The international community must work through the United Nations to restore aspects such as the security of citizens and the rebuilding of public institutions.
A recent report by the Office on Drugs and Crime, another UN agency, argued that this was the case With Haiti left without government and control over the situation, the arms and drug markets have grown significantly. Rapes, murders and kidnappings, which have increased in the absence of practical law enforcement, have further increased the migratory flow of Haitians trying to reach the United States.
A direct Guterres claimed that the main purpose of his visit was to gather information on the ground and hold meetings with Haitian actors, which he told the press call on the United Nations Security Council to support the Caribbean state’s security forces in their “fight against gangs”..
“The seriousness of the situation (for us) requires urgent and sustained attention that puts the victims and civilian population at the center of our concerns and priorities,” he said. promised to do Efforts for countries with military responsiveness to act inside Haiti to ‘break the gangs’as a first step and with the prior approval of the Security Council.
After a few years of some stability during the government of Michel Martelly, The institutional crisis was evident in Haitií from 2015. Jovenel Moïse’s triumph was not immediately recognized and there was a long debate between the authorities over when his term should end. Parliament said so in 2020 and the President said so in 2021.
Meanwhile, the general election has been postponed amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The country remained without parliament and the judiciary was also dissolved, leaving Moïse as the only clue to power until he was assassinated in July 2021.
The scheduled elections were suspended and a prime minister reigned, Ariel Henry, who literally self-proclaimed as there were no other public powers to confirm this. Henry also suspended members of the voting power a year ago.
The institutional question, on the other hand, was on Guterres’ agenda who met separately with Henry, with the Transitional High Council, and with members of various political parties, as well as members of civil society. According to the UN Secretary General, he was willing to work out a political agreement that would restore institutionality to the country Caribbean, but this also requires international support.
This is precisely what has long been a flag hoisted by the president of neighboring country, the Dominican Republic. President Luis Abinader has used all international forums and meetings to call for an international humanitarian intervention that – in his opinion – under the leadership of the United States, not only addresses the social emergency, but also helps to restore institutions and help in the organization of Presidential and parliamentary elections helps
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same territory, the island of Hispaniola, and Dominican authorities often complain about the undue burden this places on their health services or food programs, not only for supporting their citizens but also for providing for the Haitian population fleeing the crisis in their own country.
However, the tendency for Haiti to be long lived has worsened over the past two years before the apathetic gaze of the international community makes that clear This Caribbean country is not a priority for the western hemisphere’s heavyweight playerslike the US and Canada.
Guterres stressed that “this is not the time to forget Haiti.”stuck in the overlapping problems of citizen security, the lack of political institutions and the general economic crisis. In its numerous crises, Haiti has no short-term solution in front of it for this.
A clear example of this Haiti is completely disjointed The trial to establish accountability for the 2021 assassination of its president eventually took place in Miami, United States.
In the midst of the general crisis already described and without its own police forces, it was US agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Office of Homeland Security in Miami that conducted the preliminary investigations that made it possible for police to determine what happened.
The Justice Department transferred seven of the defendants to US territory between late 2022 and early 2023. Penalties began to be imposed last month.
On June 2, a federal judge in Miami sentenced Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar to life imprisonment. He was accused of conspiring to murder or kidnap outside the United States and providing logistical support to a group of Colombian mercenaries who shot Moïse dead.