U.N. leaders urge international security mission to help Haiti

The deputy head of the United Nations appealed to world leaders to answer the Haitian government's call for help by sending troops to restore peace and security.

"At the end of 2022, Haiti is in a deepening crisis of unprecedented scale and complexity that is cause for serious alarm," Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

"I urge every country with the capacity to do so to give urgent consideration to the Haitian government’s request for an international specialized armed force to help restore security and alleviate the humanitarian crisis," she said.

Mohammed recalled feeling encouraged when she visited Haiti in February to see first-hand its efforts to recover and eliminate cholera in the wake of last year's 7.2 magnitude earthquake soon after President Jovenel Moise's assassination.

But the Caribbean nation is in a tailspin now as armed ‎gangs take over and use killings and gang rapes to terrorize and rule over communities.

"Gang violence is paralyzing the country and obstructing the freedom of movement of people, of goods, and humanitarian aid," she said. "It has fueled the resurgence of cholera, increased food ‎insecurity to unimaginable levels, displaced 155,000 people, and disrupted the education of thousands ‎of children."

Appeal for outside help

In October, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Security Council and other nations to send an international specialized force to Haiti at the government's request.

Guterres said it would "address the humanitarian crisis, including securing the free movement of water, fuel, food and medical supplies from main ports and airports to communities and health care facilities."

The Security Council discussed the possibility at an emergency meeting after the United States and Mexico prepared a Security Council resolution to authorize an international mission that could strengthen security in Haiti, where thousands of people organized protests and called for Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.

Henry and the Haitian Council of Ministers had appealed for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to restore security and ease the humanitarian crisis, but the request remains unanswered.