Haiti

The Organization of American States said Sunday it is preparing to send a mission to Haiti to help supervise elections ahead of its end-of-year polls. The regional bloc's observers intend to arrive several months in advance to help authorities register voters and then count votes, OAS special representative to Haiti Frederic Bolduc of Canada told AFP.

The ongoing electoral stalemate in Haiti, already linked to socio-economic grievances, could undermine the political and security situations, the new head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country said in her first briefing to the Security Council.

The United Nations has steadfastly denied causing the epidemic, which has killed more than 8,000 people since it began in 2010, and has resisted paying any compensation.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed career diplomat Sandra Honoré of Trinidad and Tobago as the new head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, it was announced today.

Victims of Haiti's cholera epidemic have given the United Nations a 60-day deadline to start talks about billions of dollars worth of compensation or face legal action. The UN is accused of negligently allowing peacekeeping soldiers to pollute Haiti's water with cholera.

Legislative and elections were due to take place in January 2012 at the latest, but in spite of an agreement signed in December between the executive and legislative branches to form an electoral commission, there have been no new developments.

Without an inclusive national pact on critical priorities, President Michel Martelly faces the spectre of a failed presidency, and Haiti risks international abandonment. “Governing Haiti: Time for National Consensus”, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the race against time to convince its own people, donors and potential investors that progress and stability are still achievable.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Mr. Nigel Fisher of Canada as his acting Special Representative for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).