Haiti at ‘watershed moment’, Prime Minister tells UN, urging full backing for security force

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé of Haiti addresses the General Debate of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session.

Haiti is at a “watershed moment” in its struggle against gang violence and needs sustained international support alongside stronger national security institutions, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé told the UN General Assembly on Friday.

Addressing world leaders in New York, Mr. Fils-Aimé said criminal violence was threatening communities across the country, but insisted Haiti was neither defeated nor seeking to have others determine its future.

“Haiti will resist. Haiti is standing tall,” he said, calling on the international community “not to save it, but to stand side by side with it while it takes its own destiny into its own hands.”

The Prime Minister said the scale of violence, including massacres, displacement and attacks against women and children, demanded decisive action.

He paid tribute to victims as well as Haitian and international security personnel who have died serving the country, stressing that the human toll must not become simply another statistic.

Haiti, he said, is strengthening its own security forces, including through a programme to train 4,000 police officers. More than 2,000 have already been trained, while over 1,500 new soldiers have completed training. The Government also plans to train 15,000 additional soldiers over the next three years.

Copyright for this text belongs to UN News.