Haiti

(Quelle: UN News) Endorsing the recent efforts of the Haitian Government and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the impoverished Caribbean country to tackle gang violence and reform the national police, the Security Council today called for further measures to improve the justice system. … The Council voiced appreciation “for the ongoing efforts by MINUSTAH in supporting the Haitian National Police (HNP) in the fight against gang violence as well as the efforts to implement the HNP reform plan, in particular the beginning of the vetting process, and encouraged further efforts to advance the reform of the justice system.”

(Quelle: UN News) The senior United Nations envoy to Haiti has congratulated the country’s people on the successful conclusion of a number of local, municipal and legislative elections which culminated a three-round process as part of broader efforts to consolidate democracy in the Caribbean country. … More than 300,000 voters in 25 communities exercised their democratic right in 69 voting centres and 770 polling stations to choose their representatives. With logistical and security support provided by MINUSTAH to the CEP and the Haitian National Police, all polling stations opened on time, allowing voters access to the polling booths, the mission said in a news release.

(Quelle: UN News) Just returned from a mission to Haiti, the leader of a team from the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) today painted a mixed picture of the Caribbean country, which has experienced greater political stability and security in recent months but still faces numerous development challenges which he said must be met through a determined international response. “Our goal is to promote recovery and stability and to ensure that Haiti receives the sustained, long-term international support that it needs,” said Ambassador John McNee of Canada. … Mr. McNee tempered his optimism with a note of caution. “In fairness, we should stress the fragility of the situation and the huge challenge. It is one thing to take on the gangs in this area – the real challenge is finding employment and economic growth that will give people incentive to take a peaceful path, not a criminal path.”

(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) today announced the arrival of nearly 100 Chinese officers, including seven women, who are serving with a Formed Police Unit (FPU) in the Caribbean country. The 95 new police, who joined a group of 30 FPU members of the same contingent that arrived last week on 4 April, brings the total number of Chinese officers in Haiti to 125. China has contributed more than 1,000 officers in Formed Police Units since the Mission was established in October 2004 after an insurgency forced then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile.

(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has announced plans to provide security and logistical support to the Caribbean country’s Provisional Electoral Commission when it holds local mayoral and municipal elections later this month. About 300,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots on 29 April, voting for 73 delegate seats across 10 districts, MINUSTAH spokesperson Sophie Boutaud de la Combe told journalists on Thursday at the weekly press briefing in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. Ms. Boutaud de la Combe urged all eligible Haitians to vote in the polls, which follow successfully staged legislative and local elections last year.

(Quelle: UN News) More than 400 Haitian gang members have been arrested since the beginning of the year in operations by the Haitian National Police (HNP), backed by United Nations police and military to crack down on violent crime, UN officials reported today. “Our joint operations are increasingly successful,” UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) spokesman David Wimhurst told the UN News Service. “This is the highest rate of arrests and detentions to date.” … The local population played a vital role in many of these arrests by providing information on the whereabouts of gang members to Haitian and UN police via confidential telephone hot-lines which, though already in existence, have been increasingly used during the current crackdown.

(Quelle: UN News) Close on the heals of the capture of one of Haiti’s most notorious criminal armed gang leaders, United Nations peacekeepers and Haitian police have reported new successes in their crackdown on violent crime in Port-au-Prince, the capital, dismantling one group, arresting three dozen more suspects and seizing weapons caches. In one of the latest operations, 32 suspects were arrested in the Linteau 1 and Ti Ayiti quarters of the capital’s Cité Soleil neighbourhood, one of the violence-ridden country’s most dangerous areas, leading to the dismantling of the Blade Nazon and the seizure of arms and ammunition. The operation was launched after UN troops on patrol came under fire.

(Quelle: UN News) United Nations peacekeepers and Haitian police are extending their crackdown on armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, the capital, arresting criminals, seizing weapons and restoring services in cleared areas – from rehabilitating a school used by the gangs as a refuge to building a football field. “The UN peacekeepers are going to continue to pursue the criminals who threaten Haiti’s security,” UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) military spokesperson Laurie Arellano said in her latest update.

(Quelle: UN News) United Nations peacekeepers and Haitian police have completed the first phase of a crackdown on armed gangs in one of the violence-ridden country’s most dangerous areas, the Cité Soleil neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, the capital, arresting dozens of criminals and converting gang headquarters into medical and social centres. … Overall, 55 suspected gang members were arrested, five kidnap victims freed and ammunition and arms seized. Many arrests were aided by the local population, who used confidential hot-lines to pass on information to the Haitian National Police (HNP) or to MINUSTAH, set up in 2004 to help re-establish peace in the impoverished Caribbean country after an insurgency forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile.

(Quelle: UN News) United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti have arrested 59 suspected gangsters since they launched a crack-down on armed gangs at the beginning of the month in one of the violence-ridden country’s most dangerous areas, the Cité Soleil quarter of Port-au-Prince, the capital. As a result of the clean-up sweeps, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) earlier this week was able to use the sports field in the Bélékou area of Cité Soleil to deliver 5,000 litres of drinking water, 700 meals and medical and dental care to local residents. “We will continue these operations for a better future and for bringing security to the territory of the country, which will allow significant progress and lead to a stable society,” MINUSTAH military spokesperson Major Laurie Arellano told a news conference in Port-au-Prince yesterday.