Brazil beats Haiti in UN-backed peace-building soccer match

A Brazilian all-star team shut out Haiti six to zero in a friendly soccer match on Wednesday aimed at encouraging national reconciliation in the troubled Caribbean nation, with the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINUSTAH) on hand to provide security and public health information.

"Brazil's president Ignacio Lula da Silva and Haiti's interim government came up with the idea of using the game to promote a spirit of peace and to bring people together," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters at the UN's New York Headquarters today.

The match took place in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, with the Brazilian President and the Haitian national authorities among the more than 15,000 spectators.

In addition to making the Sylvio Cantor Stadium area safe, MINUSTAH used the occasion to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, Mr. Eckhard said.