USA – Haiti’s Prime Minister Garry Conille has urged the international community to stand by the country, warning “if we fail, it will not only be Haiti that will sink, but the entire region that will bear the scars”.

Addressing the  United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, Conille said it was important that the international community act now and keep its commitments to Haiti, where efforts are being made to restore peace and security following the July 7, 2021 assassination of then president Jovenel Moise.

Prime Minister Conille, who met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of the ECOSOC meeting, noted that it is important for international partners to fill the investment gap in the United Nations authorised Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, which aims to provide much-needed respite to the Haitian people. “We must be clear-headed. After these 100 days, a bitter truth has emerged: the Haitian crisis, in its security, humanitarian, social, economic and political components, has been largely underestimated,” Conille said.

“The gangs we are facing are not just disorganised gangs. These are real armed groups, often well-equipped and determined, with transnational ramifications. In some cases, the situation we are facing is nothing less than an urban war, forcing our law enforcement agencies to act house by house, because buildings and neighbourhoods are often transformed into death traps. “We need more sophisticated weapons, more substantial resources and increased training for our forces to respond sustainably to this threat that sometimes takes on the appearance of a civil war.”

Conille told the more than 40 representatives of countries and international partners at the ECOSOC meeting that “it is imperative that the international community stand by our side with resources that match the stakes, warning “if we fail, it will not only be Haiti that will sink, but the entire region that will bear the scars”. (Jamaicaobserver)…[+]