Haiti

(Quelle: New York Times) For years, street gangs have run Haiti right alongside the politicians. With a disbanded army and a corrupted wreck of a police force, successive presidents have either used the gangs against political rivals or just bought them off. Recently, something extraordinary has occurred. President René Préval decided to take on the gangs and set the 8,000 United Nations peacekeepers loose on them, a risky move that will determine the security of the country and the success of his young government. “We’re taking back Port-au-Prince centimeter by centimeter,” said Lt. Col. Abdesslam Elamarti, a peacekeeper from Morocco. “We’re pressing these gangs so the population can live in peace.”

(Quelle: UN News) The first of 350 Nepalese soldiers, all of whom are expected to be deployed by early March, began arriving in Haiti this week to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH. The newly arrived soldiers will join peacekeepers already on the ground as early as this week to help rid Cité Soleil, the infamous inner-city neighbourhood in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, of criminal gangs who have long been terrorizing citizens.

(Quelle: Reliefweb) At least five people were killed and six wounded after a United Nations peacekeeping force raided a volatile slum in the capital of impoverished Haiti this week, U.N. and hospital officials said on Friday. U.N. military spokesman Col. Abdesslam Elamarti said the force was building up its efforts to clear the Caribbean country's most dangerous slums of criminal gangs who still hold sway in parts of Port-au-Prince. 'We are now intensifying our operations in those areas where the gangs operate to make sure the people can go about their activities,' Elamarti said.

(Quelle: UN News) Haiti has made solid progress in rebuilding its economy and restoring the rule of law but serious obstacles remain in the country, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping operation there said today. “If you take a picture of Haiti today, you’ll see it’s quite a worrisome picture,” Edmond Mulet, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the Mission, known as MINUSTAH, told reporters at UN Headquarters, referring to problems the country currently faces such as political polarization, corruption, violence and paucity of institutions.

(Quelle: Reliefweb) China could block an extension of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti due to the South American country's diplomatic ties with rival Taiwan, diplomats said Monday. The UN Security Council on Monday discussed a 12-month renewal of the UN peacekeeping operations' mandate in Haiti, which will expire February 15. Former secretary general Kofi Annan had called for a 12-month extension of the 7,700-strong force. It was not known whether China, a veto power on the 15-nation council, would agree to the whole extension or would demand changes in the mandate. But China has strongly opposed UN presence in countries that have ties with Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province.

(Quelle: BBC) UN peacekeepers in Haiti say they have set up a stronghold in one of the largest and most violent slums of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The stronghold is to be a centre for operations against armed gangs, a UN spokesperson told the BBC.

(Quelle: UN News) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today named Major General Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz of Brazil as the new Force Commander of the peacekeeping UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). … The Secretary-General communicated his intention to appoint Major General Santos Cruz in a letter to the Security Council, which established MINUSTAH in 2004 after an insurgency forced elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile.

(Quelle: UN News) Citing “significant challenges” for Haiti’s Government, the United Nations Secretary-General has recommended extending the world body’s mission in the impoverished country for a further 12 months until February 2008. The report by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan … covers the work of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for five months until December 2006, including its logistical and security assistance for last month’s elections.

(Quelle: Reliefweb) Four Haitians were killed during voting in municipal elections Sunday, while UN peacekeepers fired tear gas to quell a disturbance at one polling station. The voting for mayors and local representatives showed a weak turnout amid a handful of disruptive incidents, mainly scuffles between Haitians and local authorities, according to reports and AFP reporters, but officials were pleased. … The elections will complete a series of polls that began last February, when Haitians elected Preval as president.

(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations Assistance Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) today expressed satisfaction with the conduct of elections in the country while voicing concern at isolated outbreaks of violence. … The Mission's 6,500-plus troops and 1,700 police were tasked with providing security and logistic support throughout the country, including distributing election material to some 9,200 polling stations.