PORT-AU-PRICE, Haiti – UN Secretary-General António Guterres is alarmed by the escalating violence in Haiti, where armed gangs are reportedly gaining ground in the capital Port-au-Prince, his Spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Guterres strongly supports efforts by the Haitian National Police, with the backing of the Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, to address the mounting violence.
Support MSS mission
The UN Security Council authorized the deployment of the international force, which is led by Kenya, in October 2023
“The secretary-general reiterated his pressing call to ensure that the MSS mission receives the necessary financial and logistical support to successfully implement its mandate,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement. The UN chief also emphasized the importance of urgent progress in the political transition in Haiti.
Assisting displaced people
Despite the rising insecurity, the UN and partners continue to support people in the Port-au-Prince region.
Humanitarians are distributing hot meals, water, hygiene and dignity kits to displaced people. They have also delivered medicines and medical supplies to key health facilities.
This past weekend, the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners provided a record number of hot meals in one single day to people who were recently displaced, serving nearly 38,000 meals across 26 sites in the capital and Arcahaie.
So far this year, WFP has provided more than two million hot meals prepared, as much as possible, with locally grown and locally procured ingredients.
Back in the air
Operations throughout Haiti also continue without interruption, “but obviously not at the level we would like to see,” said Dujarric, speaking during his daily media briefing from New York. He said that flights operated by the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) are still expected to resume on Wednesday.
Transporting aid workers
The helicopter the UN uses in Haiti is registered in the United States, he explained, and it was granted a humanitarian exemption from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume flights within the country.
UNHAS also has a second aircraft, a small plane that is registered in Switzerland.
“They are both used to provide passenger and light-cargo transport within Haiti for the entire humanitarian community including local and international NGOs and UN entities. We do not bring humanitarian supplies into the country using UNHAS assets,” he said.
Dujarric concluded by highlighting the urgent need for additional resources to maintain operations on the scale needed.
A $674 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti this year is 43 percent funded, with nearly $290 million received to date.
Over 20,000 flee as gang violence spurs mass displacement in Haiti
