The UN envoy for Haiti, Maria Salvador, has welcomed recent strides towards restoring democracy amid alarming levels of violence in the country.

Ms Salvador, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti, said this while briefing the Security Council on Wednesday in New York, highlighting the installation of the Transitional Council.

The envoy highlighted the installation of the Transitional Presidential Council in April and the swearing-in of an interim prime minister and new government in June as “clear indications of progress.”

Haiti has been embroiled in a complex crisis, marked by years of political instability, rampant gang violence, disease outbreaks and a series of hazards worsened by climate change.

Across the country, about 5.5 million people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance, with almost 600,000 people – over half of them children – internally displaced and in urgent need of support.

She also commended the efforts of the transitional authorities to increase the participation of women and other minorities in key positions in government, with six of the 18 ministries now headed by women, representing 33 per cent of all ministries.

“Inclusion and diversity are essential to promote a political transition that paves the way for the restoration of state institutions and effectively responds to the needs and expectations of all Haitians,” she said.

Ms Salvador, who also heads the UN Mission in the country (BINUH), welcomed the new prime minister’s commitment to fight corruption and promote human rights and justice.

She informed council members that BINUH was realigning its priorities to support a Haitian-led transition, which includes credible, inclusive and participatory elections, aiming for the installation of elected authorities by February 2026 at the latest.

To that end, she proposed the possibility of enhancing the BINUH’s electoral expertise.

Increasing the participation of women and youth is a fundamental pillar of BINUH’s renewed strategy to support the political process, she highlighted, outlining also its focus on promoting human rights across Haitian society.

On the security front, Ms Salvador reported that the base for the Multinational Security Support mission, authorised by Security Council resolution 2699 (2023), had been completed.

In addition, she said that the first group of Kenyan police officers arrived on June 25 for deployment.

She also welcomed the appointment of a new Director General of the Haitian National Police (HNP), describing it as bringing “new hope to the continuous fight against gang violence.”

That resolution also mandated the MSS mission to establish a human rights oversight mechanism.

As the MSS mission deploys, Ms Salvador stressed the need to strengthen the human rights area in BINUH to provide the necessary support.

Looking ahead, the Special Representative emphasized the importance of establishing a coordination mechanism among national authorities, the MSS mission, the UN, and other partners in Haiti.

She noted that although the Security Council, in resolution 2692 adopted in 2023, authorized a strengthened police component in BINUH, financial constraints and a hiring freeze impeded progress in scaling up the police and corrections area.

Ms Salvador, however, reiterated BINUH’s full engagement to work with the government and stakeholders towards stability, peace and a brighter future for all Haitian men, women, youth and children.

Also at the Security Council, interim Prime Minister of Haiti, Garry Conille, emphasized that his country’s people “continue to fight for a better future.”

Attending rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure on participation of non-members, Mr Conille underlined the “urgent need to find a lasting solution to the security problems exacerbated by the activities of criminal gangs.”

He urged effective cooperation between national authorities, the MSS mission and BINUH to help re-establish security and restore democratic institutions which he described as “strategic for the transition.”

Mr Conille highlighted that since his appointment as interim prime minister, he had held several working sessions with the Transitional Presidential Council, anti-corruption and accountability institutions, law enforcement agencies, the private sector and diaspora associations.

(NAN)