Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the briefing on the question concerning Haiti

Thank you President.

I thank ASG Jenča for his briefing.

I also thank Dr. Juma for the information provided as well as Dr. Pape and Mr. Cohen for sharing their views.

Mr. President,

In October, the Council discussed the worsening security situation in Haiti, marked by a brutal gang attack in Pont Sondé, as well as the persistently alarming levels of human rights violations and abuses.

A month later, amid changes in Haiti’s transitional government, reports of thousands of residents fleeing battles between armed gangs and police in the Solino neighborhood of Port-au-Prince vividly illustrate the ongoing suffering of the Haitian population.

Dr. Pape’s intervention today pictured a horrific picture as well, in particular for women and girls. We have been saying this for a while now that the decisive action by the Haitian authorities and the international community is urgently needed to address the crisis and the dire humanitarian situation, with nearly half of the Haitian population facing food insecurity and over 700,000 displaced.

To this end, humanitarian access must remain unimpeded and sustained, and the safety of humanitarian personnel must be ensured.

Mr. President,

In September, the Council reaffirmed its continued support for the MSS mission and its mandate.

We welcome the recent decisions by El Salvador to deploy the additional personnel to the MSS mission, joining contingents from Kenya, Jamaica, Belize, and the Bahamas and we are looking forward to the report on the implementation of Resolution 2699.

At the same time, we express concern over several challenges, primarily resource-related, faced by the MSS mission, which hinder the successful fulfillment of its mandate and the necessary scale-up of its presence in support of the Haitian National Police’s efforts to regain control of gang-controlled areas.

In this vein, we acknowledge Haiti’s call for the transformation of the MSS into a UN peacekeeping operation, as this would enable more sustainable funding and personnel deployment, as well as clearer and more predictable operational parameters.

Mr. President,

Additional security assistance from the international community, along with a stable domestic political environment, is necessary to quell the current spiral of deadly gang violence in Haiti.

To this end, we urge the continued deployment of MSS mission personnel as we consider the best way to address the challenges that the mission is facing.

Building on the lessons learned, all options, including the transformation of the mission into the UN peacekeeping operation as requested by Haiti and supported by the region, should be assessed. In this regard, Slovenia has constructively engaged in negotiations on the resolution, seeking recommendations from the Secretary-General on the mission’s transformation.

To emphasize, it is crucial that an assessment on the suitability of the UN peacekeeping operation for the security conditions in Haiti be an integral part of these recommendations guiding our further considerations.

Finally, Mr. President,

Amidst this process, let us not lose sight of the fact that our primary task is to support the Haitian population in their urgent need to return to bring stability and security to Haiti.

I thank you.

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