UNITED NATIONS - President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Ambassador Dennis Francis, said that on his recent visit to Haiti, “If there was one single and dominating keyword that emerged in all of my conversations, it is security”.
UNGA president, Ambassador Dennis Francis addressing the informal meeting on Haiti at UN on Monday (CMC Photo)The Trinidad and Tobago diplomat visited the French Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country on November 20-21, saying that the visit had a three-fold purpose.
Addressing an informal briefing on Haiti that was attended by the presidents of the UN Security Council and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Francis said the first objective of his visit was to demonstrate solidarity with the Haitian leadership, and the people of Haiti; and to reassure them that the international community has not abandoned them – in their very challenging circumstances.
He said the second was “to shine a brighter spotlight on the multifaceted political, security and humanitarian crises gripping the country, in order to spur meaningful action by the United Nations and the international community at large – as also called for by many leaders during the General Debate in September, especially from my own region”.
The Trinidad and Tobago diplomat said that he also wanted to engage first-hand with the Haitian political leaders, civil society representatives and other key stakeholders; to encourage their commitment to national reconciliation and mutual dialogue “paving the way forwards toward free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections and the restoration of the rule of law and democratic institutions that enjoy the confidence of the Haitian people”.
He said he held discussions with various stakeholders, including Prime MInister Dr. Ariel Henry and “if there was one single and dominating keyword that emerged in all of my conversations, it is security.
“The lack of security – due to the prevalence of the harrowing terror unleashed by the marauding gangs – clearly impacts every aspect of the daily lives of the Haitian people.”
He said uncontrollable violence has robbed, and continues to rob, the Haitian people of their freedoms and rights; and it is stifling the country’s path to sustainable development.
“I heard depressing accounts about schools housing people internally displaced by gang violence, and these institutions are supposed to be bastions of education, not shelters.
“I heard sad incidents of parents kidnapped for ransom while taking their children to school.
I heard alarming reports of the loss of some 40 per cent, I repeat, 40 per cent of Haiti’s health care workers, who have left the country in hopes of finding a brighter future elsewhere.
I head of the brain or skills drain, of security and law enforcement personnel, who should be securing Haiti, migrating in droves for better paying jobs elsewhere. And devastatingly, I was deeply moved to hear about women and girls subjected to brutal sexual violence, with many living in a cycle of fear and trauma.”
Francis said that it is with “great sadness and anger” that he recounted the events to the informal meeting on Monday, adding “this violence in Haiti clearly needs to stop, and we cannot be credible, as the UN and the international community, to just look the other way”.
He said these issues cut to the very heart of the UN’s founding mission, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
“In Haiti, war is in the streets with people fighting against hunger, preventable disease, and unjustifiably rampant and deadly insecurity. They are equally fighting for a safer, more just, and prosperous life for themselves and their children,” Francis said, adding” they are fighting to provide quality education for their children and youth, just like any other parent would do and wish for their children.
“Nonetheless, I was heart warmed when I paid a visit to a school and saw hope in the faces of the pupils, I met at École Nationale République des États Unis d’Amérique. Indeed, this was a highlight of my trip, as the boys and girls embodied the unbridled potential within all of us to build a better world.”
He said in keeping with his visits to places, he has donated copies of the UN Charter to the school, “hoping it will inspire curiosity among these children to remain hopeful that all is not lost, because the United Nations is here to support and stand with them to achieve a better future.”
Francis saisd that the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission authorized by the UN Security Council in October “is awaited with great urgency by many in Haiti, including the political parties and Civil Society groups”.
He said the November 28 report by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti finds that the gangs not only control 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince, the capital.
“They have spread even further to rural areas previously considered safe, killing, raping, kidnapping, and destroying property,” Francis said, expressing “my deepest thanks to the government of Kenya for demonstrating leadership of this critical mission, as well as all other countries that have pledged or are planning to contribute to this peace and security initiative.”
The UNGA president said he is encouraged by the coordinated preparations among the countries involved as this is absolutely vital to achieving an effective outcome for such a delicate mission.
“As this mission prepares to deploy, it is equally important that Haiti’s civil and political actors intensify efforts to find a sustainable political solution that will allow for the restoration of democratic institutions – and thus create a space for this mission to fulfil its intended role.
“I emphasized the importance of this point during my visit, in all my meetings with stakeholders in Haiti. I encouraged the authorities, as well as representatives of Haiti’s political parties and civil society representatives, to surmount their differences, emphasizing that every stakeholder has a duty to work for the interests of the country and the people.”
He said that throughout his engagements in Haiti, he reiterated the vital need to involve women and young people, especially girls, in an inclusive political processes, as their views are foundational to ensuring the establishment of a functioning governance system.
“I did not mince my words in categorically challenging the Haitian political elites to abandon their self-centred pre-occupation and to prioritize instead the ordinary people of Haiti, who have endured too much turmoil and who deserve to be given a chance, to succeed.
“I emphasized that Haiti belongs to them too and that it is their responsibility as elites seeking office to fix the country so that young Haitians would be guaranteed a life chance.
It was also underscored that solutions need to be homegrown Haitian solutions, with no impositions from outside, and the UN and the international community would be there to support and accompany the Haitian people along the way to sustainable development,” Francis told the informational meeting on Haiti.
He said he has returned Haiti also with hope; and with the full knowledge that while Haiti is facing extraordinary challenges, its future holds indomitable promise.
“Driving in the streets of Port au Prince, I saw visible signs of hope, sustained by the undying resilience and perseverance of the Haitian people, who seem to create inventive ways to meet the daily challenges.
“Haiti is not hopeless. There is, in my view, no shortage of potential in Haiti, and it is not too late that, as the international community, we must do something to accompany the Haitian people, further”.
