Debate: Situation in Haiti on the eve of the deployment of the United Nations Multinational Security Support Mission
Date: MONDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2024
Speaker: Adina-Ioana Vălean
Language: EN

We read with concern the latest report by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti about rampant insecurity, the strength of armed gangs and the limited capacity of state institutions to restore security and rule of law. The capacity of gangs to gather large quantities of arms and ammunition is of particular concern, and violent incidents – including killings, kidnappings, sexual violence – persist with alarming impunity. There is an urgent need to take action to stop the illegal proliferation of firearms and ammunition in the country. This is an area where the European Union is willing to continue offering its support to Haiti, and other Caribbean countries facing similar challenges. Innocent citizens continue to pay the highest price. A chronic security, economic and political crisis, exacerbated by natural catastrophes, has led to the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti. Today, more than 40 % of the Haitian population suffers from acute food insecurity. Recurrent cholera outbreaks continue to claim numerous victims. The Haitian state cannot be left alone in its fight against the gangs and the multifold crisis the country needs to address. Haiti’s international partners, including the United Nations, have a crucial role to play. The resolution of the United Nations Security Council, passed on 2 October last year, authorising a multinational security mission in support of Haiti to be led by Kenya, was an important and long-overdue breakthrough. The same resolution indicates the need to create effective accountability mechanisms to protect human rights, and to avoid the mistakes made during the previous UN-led mission, MINUSTAH, which ended in 2017. The EU has taken note of the recent ruling of Kenya’s High Court on the proposed deployment of Kenyan police to lead the mission. We are awaiting with interest the response of the Kenyan Government to enable the mission to proceed. The European Union will continue to provide support for Haiti’s stability, development and better integration in the Caribbean region. Our cooperation and humanitarian envelope for Haiti is by far the largest in the Americas. Despite the many difficulties in implementing our programmes, the European Union remains committed to play its part alongside our international partners, and will continue supporting the broader objectives of a multinational support mission once it is deployed – restoring stability, supporting governance, both indirectly through our cooperation instruments, and directly through our support for the Haitian National Police. Alongside the security track, it is important to continue pursuing a political solution to take the country out of the current crisis. We welcome the active involvement of regional organisations, particularly the CARICOM and the Organization of American States, supporting a Haitian-led political solution built on the basis of a constructive dialogue between the Government and the Opposition. Unfortunately, we regret to see how the Haitian parties have failed to come together around a credible solution to the current institutional impasse. Haitians deserve better than this. We urge, therefore, the main political stakeholders to engage in a genuine dialogue and renew their efforts to find an effective compromise, with the ultimate goal to prepare the country for credible and inclusive elections once security conditions will allow.