Haiti

A transitional ruling council is scheduled to be sworn in Thursday in Haiti. … The nine-member council will be tasked with naming a new prime minister and helping set up a new government ahead of planned elections.

[…] “Today, it pains me to note that all speeches and callings had not avoided that some of the worst scenarios for Haiti have become realities in recent months and weeks,” said Maria Isabel Salvador, who also heads the UN mission in Haiti, BINUH.

Haitian business leaders said in a letter addressed to Kenyan President William Ruto that they were "extremely concerned" over a delay to a United Nations-backed security mission his government has pledged to lead to fight gangs in the Caribbean nation. 

Haitian leaders have finalized a deal for a temporary government to steer their Caribbean nation out of gang-fueled chaos, but the details must first be approved by the outgoing authorities, Agence France Presse confirmed Monday. Members of the transition council sent their plan to the regional Caribbean body CARICOM late Sunday.

Restoring public order and ensuring access to aid must be priorities in Haiti, where criminal gangs continue to terrorize the population, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva. 

Members of a transitional presidential council who will be responsible for selecting a new prime minister issued their first official statement on Wednesday, pledging to restore "public and democratic order" in Haiti.

A transitional presidential council is taking shape in Haiti, even as rampant gang violence spreads into wealthy areas of the capital amid lingering divisions over the best path forward, notably over the deployment of a largely US-funded security assistance mission.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on all stakeholders in Haiti to “act responsibly” and take steps toward implementing the agreement reached late Monday for the establishment of a transitional government and the subsequent resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Kenya is halting plans to deploy at least 1,000 police officers to Haiti following the unprecedented violence that erupted in the Caribbean nation and the announcement by its Prime Minister Ariel Henry that he would resign once a presidential council is created, a Kenyan official said Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday the United States would commit an additional $100 million to a United Nations-backed multinational security force intended to assist Haitian police in combating gangs, along with $33 million in humanitarian aid.