Haiti

The top UN official in Haiti called Monday for a “democratic renewal” in the troubled Caribbean nation to lift it out of a drawn-out political and humanitarian crisis and put it back on the path to stability and development.

Haitian police fired tear gas on hundreds of protesters who were marching against President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince Wednesday, and attacked journalists covering the demonstration, in the latest clashes to mark the country’s political crisis.

Haitian President Jovenel Moise has retired three Supreme Court justices, two days after announcing a foiled coup attempt. … Haiti’s opposition has insisted for months that President Moise’s term expires on February 7, 2021 according to the constitution and that a transitional government should replace him. … Moise says his term will expire in February 2022, a date accepted by the U.S., United Nations and Organization of American States. … The three judges retired by Moise are in the line of succession.

[…] They accuse Moise, who has ruled for nearly four years, of being an autocrat who failed to curb the rash of kidnappings that have terrorized the nation. They also criticize Moise for what they regard as his weak response to a crippling economic crisis. Moise has said he will not step down until February 2022, noting he has one year left of his five-year term.

Increasing political tensions in Haiti coupled with insecurity and structural inequalities could result in protests followed by violent crackdowns by authorities, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warned on Tuesday.

The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, who continues to insist on using his one-man rule of the Caribbean nation to usher in constitutional reform. … The call came on the same day that Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro took to Twitter. Almagro said it’s “essential for institutional continuity that elections take place no later than Jan. 2021.”

Some delegates call technical rollover inadequate, stress need for more robust mandate.

Violent protests sparked by the murder of a high-profile legal scholar are threatening to push Haiti into a spiral of instability, Special Representative Helen La Lime told the Security Council on Monday, as she outlined UN efforts to help overcome the impasse engulfing the country.