Ban-Ki moon to see UN rehabilitation efforts in Haiti during upcoming visit

When Ban Ki-moon arrives in Haiti tomorrow for a 24-hour tour, he will witness efforts by the United Nations in the fields of security, the economy and the judiciary that have fostered progress since the last visit by a Secretary-General to the impoverished Caribbean country a year ago, the UN mission there said today.

Notorious flashpoints of violence in Port-au-Prince, the capital, such as Cité Soleil, Martissant, Grand Ravine, Ti Bois, where residents were once terrorized by armed gangs, now enjoy relative calm thanks to security operations carried out by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) together with the Haitian National Police (HNP).

“We have made significant progress, even if the situation is still fragile,” MINUSTAH’s head and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative Edmond Mulet said, noting that the cooperation between the UN and the PNH helped reduce the “confrontation and animosity” that existed between the gangs.

In an article on its website, MINUSTAH pointed to the professionalization of the HNP with its organizational, administrative and operational capacities reinforced. Some 30 trainers from the UN mission together with national trainers are involved in preparing cadets at the police academy.

Technical advisers are also on hand at police stations, departmental headquarters and in joint patrols, according to the mission.

On the judicial front, important work is under way to guarantee the independence of magistrates, judges and the whole legal system.

These measures combine to contribute to a greater sense of stability, considered essential to encouraging foreign investment, fostering job creation and re-establishing tourism in Haiti.

Mr. Mulet said that economic gains were also encouraging, citing the reduction in inflation and relations between the Government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and bilateral lenders.

During his visit Mr. Ban will meet with the President René Préval, Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis and Justice Minister René Magloire, as well as with the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament, to discuss the great challenges lying ahead.

He will also visit Cité Soleil to see first hand the evolution of a social and development project set up by international partners including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the inter-governmental International Organization for Migration (IOM).