A new, more effective international security plan for Haiti, aimed at combating and defeating armed gangs and paving the way for peace and stability in Haiti, should be proposed soon to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General António Guterre said this week at the 48th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Bridgetown.

Guterres revealed "It is my intention to present to the Security Council, a proposal that is very similar to the one that we have presented for Somalia, in which the UN assumes the responsibility of the structural and logistical expenditures that are necessary to put the force in place, and the salaries of the force are paid through the Trust Fund that already exists." (Fund financed on a voluntary basis by countries of the international community.)

If the Security Council will accept this proposal…we will have the conditions to finally have an effective force to defeat the gangs in Haiti and create the conditions for democracy to strive

Guterres identified emergency assistance to Haiti as an area where the region and the international community must strive to achieve social, political and economic progress. "First, unity and peace and security…particularly to address the appalling situation in Haiti, where gangs are inflicting intolerable suffering on the desperate and frightened people [...]"

But Guterre stressed that any political solution for Haiti must come from within the independent French-speaking member state of CARICOM.

"We must keep working for a political process owned and led by the Haitians that restores democratic institutions through elections. And I will soon report to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Haiti, including proposals on the role the UN can play to support stability and security and address the root causes of the crisis."

SL/ HaitiLibre