24771: Craig (pub) UN Security Council Mission Arrives in Haiti

[sak-pase@bimini.ws]

UN Security Council Mission Arrives in Haiti
By  Amelia Shaw
Port-au-Prince
/13 April 2005/
	

A delegation from the UN Security Council arrived in Haiti Wednesday to 
examine the situation in the troubled Caribbean nation. 

Representatives from 10 of the 15 member countries on the UN Security 
Council are in Haiti to evaluate the progress of the UN security forces 
there. The head of the mission, Ronaldo Sardenberg, Brazil's ambassador 
to the U=. nited Nations and the president of the Security Council, says 
its goal is to show UN support for Haiti's interim government. Mr. 
Sardenberg said the visit also shows that the international community is 
following closely the security situation in Haiti.

During its four-day visit, the Security Council delegation will, among 
other things, re-evaluate the mandate of the UN security forces in 
Haiti, known as MINUSTAH.

Mr. Sardenberg said it is possible that the UN mission will be extended, 
to provide increased security during elections in November.

The UN forces have been criticized by some Haitians for failing to stop 
the violence in the country.

In the capital, Port-au-Prince, more than 400 people have been killed 
since late September in gunfights between supporters and opponents of 
former President Jean Bertrand Aristide.  Businesses in the downtown 
area of the capital have closed, and kidnappings for ransom are on the 
rise. In March, two U.N. soldiers were killed during security operations.

Despite the rise in violence, U.N. officials say they have a "profound 
conviction" that the U.N. mission is succeeding. U.N. soldiers and 
police have been increasingly aggressive in disarming and demobilizing 
armed groups. In the last month, U.N. forces have assisted national 
police in at least two major security missions in gang-controlled slum 
areas.  Mr. Sardenberg says the U.N. forces are making Haiti safer.

"The first objective of this mission is help [create] an environment 
which is safe and stable, and MINUSTAH is more and more involved in that 
process.  We noticed that MINUSTAH is doing more and more, and that 
despite some incidents in the last two weeks, the fact that there is a 
trend towards
stabilization is quite clear in my mind."

The UN is calling on all political parties which participate in the 
national elections to renounce violence so that the democratic process 
can function.

Mr. Sardenberg says that Haitians also have a responsibility in assuring 
the security of their country's future.

"Haiti is a sovereign country.  The first obligation is for the 
government and the people of Haiti to get hold of this situation that 
they will work towards assuming their responsibilities and voting in 
elections that must be free, transparent and credible," he added.

The United Nations has more than 7,000 troops in Haiti, most of them 
from Latin American countries.  The troops were sent after a violent 
uprising led to the ouster of former President Aristide in February of 
last year.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-04-13-voa83.cfm