Int’l community must act decisively in Haiti – Pres. Ali tells UNGA

In his address to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, President Dr. Irfaan Ali posited that the international community must act decisively in Haiti, where gang violence, displacement, and shortages of food and medicine have pushed the nation into deepening despair.

“Restoring security is the foremost priority, requiring strict enforcement of the arms embargo and robust support for a UN-authorised mission. I emphasise that without urgent humanitarian funding and a Haitian-led and own political process, stability will remain elusive. We must address the root causes of Haiti’s continuing troubles, including its historical debt burdens, which time is its development, prospects, and upliftment of its people,” President Ali said.

Haiti is in the midst of an extreme and multidimensional crisis characterised by widespread gang violence that has led to mass displacement, food insecurity, and a collapse of essential services. Armed gangs control significant parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, creating a dangerous environment where killings, abductions, and sexual violence are rampant.

The political situation remains unstable, exacerbating the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, with millions in need of aid and an increasing number of children affected by extreme malnutrition, lack of education, and recruitment by gangs.

In August, a UN report found that 1,520 people had been killed in the country between April and June this year and at least 600 were injured. An estimated 1.3 million Haitians, 10 percent of the country’s population, have been displaced from their homes due to the violence which has gripped the capital.