Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Blowing Smoke: UN Urges Haiti to Put Country Above All Interests

1/27/2015

PORT-AU-PRINCE – After a three-day fact finding mission to Haiti, the UN Security Council has urged all stakeholders to put the interests of the country first, organize credible elections and govern in a responsible and inclusive way to end the political crisis affecting the nation.

At the end of the mission Sunday, the Chilean President of the Council, Cristian Barros Melet, and the co-chairman of the delegation, the U.S envoy Samantha Power, said that the UN body would keep supporting Haiti in its crisis.

“Not everyone in Haiti will be able to get exactly what he or she wants in the coming days or in the coming years, but it will be critical that all actors (...) put the overall welfare of Haiti before one’s particular interest,” said Power during a press conference at the local UN headquarters in the capital.

The UN delegation members said that they arrived in Haiti not to take sides in the political dispute in progress, but to support the Haitian people and leave with a better understanding of how the international community can help Haiti.

The members of the Security Council, taking note of the delicacy and fragility of the political situation during an election year, said that they saw great signs of progress in areas such as health, education, the removal of debris and the resettlement of the people displaced in the 2010 earthquake that left more than 200,000 dead.

The delegation of the United Nations told President Michel Martelly, his ministers, senators and the opposition parties, that it supports “strengthening of checks and balances at a time when the parliament is not performing its traditional role.”

Against the backdrop of months of anti-government demonstrations, often marred by violence, demanding the resignation of Martelly, the UN Security Council members urged the protesters to devote their energies constructively to the electoral process.

The UN representatives noted that it would be a big mistake for foreigners to come to Haiti to dictate how Haitians should govern themselves.

The political crisis affecting the nation forced Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to resign in December. He was replaced by Evans Paul, a member of the moderate opposition.

On Jan. 19, the president and the new prime minister presided over the takeover of the new government with several representatives of some opposition parties, who recently signed a political agreement to facilitate the holding of the long-delayed elections.


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