Haiti - ECOSOC : PM Conille speaks of «Urban War» with the appearance of «Civil War» in Haiti
Ahead of their participation in the high-level meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, Prime Minister Trudeau welcomed the "slow but real progress being made" by Prime Minister Conille and the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) toward restoring democracy, security and stability in Haiti. Both leaders agreed on the importance of the work underway toward free and fair elections in Haiti.
Both men noted that it is important for international partners to fill the investment gap in the United Nations-authorized Multinational Security Support Mission, which aims to provide much-needed respite to the Haitian people. Trudeau reiterated his long-standing support for Haiti’s solutions to the ongoing crisis and underscored Canada’s commitment to help restore peace and security in Haiti and looked forward to making further progress during Canada’s presidency of ECOSOC in the 2024-2025 session.
At the ECOSOC meeting on the Haitian crisis, co-chaired by Trudeau and Conille, in his opening remarks to more than forty representatives of countries and international partners, Prime Minister Garry Conille expressed the urgency for the international community to act now and keep its commitments to Haiti and stressed "[...] We must be clear-headed. After these 100 days, a bitter truth has emerged: the Haitian crisis, in its security, humanitarian, social, economic and political components, has been largely underestimated. The gangs we are facing are not just disorganized gangs; These are real armed groups, often well-equipped and determined, with transnational ramifications. In some cases, the situation we are facing is nothing less than an urban war, forcing our law enforcement agencies to act house by house, because buildings and neighborhoods are often transformed into death traps. We need more sophisticated weapons, more substantial resources, and increased training for our forces to respond sustainably to this threat that sometimes takes on the appearance of a civil war. [...] It is imperative that the international community stand by our side, with resources that match the stakes. If we fail, it will not only be Haiti that will sink, but the entire region that will bear the scars [...]"
