ahead of UN Security Council tenure

AHEAD of its two-year tenure on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Guyana has issued calls for more global support for Haiti during its ongoing political and humanitarian crisis.
Addressing persons at an Atlantic Council engagement, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, the Guyanese Head of State, Dr. Irfaan Ali, said Guyana intends to use its time in the council to garner more support for its Caribbean Community (CARICOM) sister.

“Haiti has been a longer problem than Ukraine… We see tremendous effort globally on getting consensus and we laud that because we are a part of it,” Dr. Ali said.
However, the President candidly stated enough is not being done to support Haiti. Guyana’s tenure on the UN Security Council is slated to begin in January 2024.
“Haiti has not been getting the type of global attention that it deserves in this time of crisis. Look at the news coverage and check what percentage of news is dedicated to Haiti and what percentage is dedicated to other issues we have globally,” Dr. Ali said.

In 2018, protests began in cities throughout Haiti in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, those protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then-president of Haiti.

An interim government was installed after the assassination of Moïse; however, surges of violence continued.
Several Haitians have sense fled the country. The situation remains intense with the latest report showing a surge in violence and more than 3,000 people being displaced.
“All the commentators and all the analysis forget that Haiti exists,” President Ali said during his remarks.
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $53.7 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Haiti.
Most recently, Kenya had announced its willingness to lead a “multinational force” in Haiti.

However, Haitian civil society groups have widely opposed the offer, citing past issues that arose with foreign intervention.
Alfred Mutua, the Kenyan Foreign Minister, announced in August that Kenya is willing to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti to assist with police training and to restore normalcy in the country.