Latest

31 May 2024 — The Secretary-General welcomes the designation by the Transitional Presidential Council of Garry Conille as the interim Prime Minister of Haiti. The Secretary-General looks forward to further progress in the establishment of the transitional governance arrangements.

Mr. Guterres encourages all Haitian stakeholders to work together to ensure steady progress in the transition to restore democratic institutions through the holding of elections.

The Secretary-General also stresses the importance of ensuring an inclusive political transition in Haiti, including by appointing women to decision-making positions.

It remains critical that progress in the political transition be accompanied by urgently needed security gains.

The Secretary-General therefore reiterates his call for the swift deployment of the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti to support the Haitian National Police in addressing the dire security situation and urgently appeals to all Member States to ensure that the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission promptly receives the financial and logistical support it needs to succeed.

And just to highlight the humanitarian situation in Haiti, I want to tell you that the humanitarian cargo flight operated by the UN Humanitarian Air Service was able to fly from Panama to Port-au-Prince airport yesterday. This is the first time a UN cargo flight has landed in the capital in three months.

The flight transported about 15 [metric] tons of medicine and medical supplies to support the operations of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

This will support critical, life-saving operations as insecurity continues to restrict people’s access to health care, mainly in the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince and in the Artibonite department.

Haitian authorities, WHO and local NGOs (non-governmental organizations) continue to provide a wide range of services to displaced people, including screening for malnutrition, cholera prevention, as well as psychosocial support.

We hope that with the gradual opening of the international airport more supplies would be able to be brought in, for which donor support is very much needed.

The humanitarian response plan for Haiti, which calls for $674 million, is only 21 per cent funded, with only $142 million in the bank.

And a note to add that this morning, UNICEF sounded the alarm about child recruitment and use by armed groups in Haiti.

They said this morning that we have estimated that 30 to 50 per cent of the armed group members are children. These children are subject to coercion, abuse and exploitation stemming from persistent social, economic and political fragility caused by the ongoing violence that has spiralled parts of the country into chaos.

The Ministries of Justice, Education and Labour and Social Affairs in Haiti recently agreed on joint ways of working to support the reintegration of children who previously were members of armed groups. They say this agreement represents a milestone in safeguarding their well-being.

Another reason why we need a quick deployment of the Multinational Security Support force in Haiti.

 

5 million Haitians are going hungry.

The need for food and other humanitarian assistance is at its peak in #Haiti. We need immediate action from the international community to avert a worsening crisis. pic.twitter.com/mpDI9Uynsj

— Cindy McCain (@WFPChief) June 4, 2024

NEW After more than two months of blockages, WFP has delivered truckloads of food to Cité Soleil – one of the areas worst affected by conflict-driven hunger in #Haiti's capital.

WFP has also resumed use of the international airport for humanitarian passenger and cargo flights.

— World Food Programme (@WFP) June 3, 2024