PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Although Haiti has made significant electoral and political progress in recent months, the Caribbean country still faces enormous challenges as it attempts to climb out of impoverishment and violence and the United Nations stands willing to play a key role in helping out, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday night during an official visit.
In a joint press conference in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, with President René Préval, Mr. Annan said he has asked the Security Council to extend the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) by 12 months, instead of the usual six, as a signal of his belief that many difficulties lie ahead for the country.
Annan [l] in Haiti with President René Preval
“We have achieved a lot, but much more remains to be done… Nation-building is a long-term proposition. It does take time, it is hard, it is difficult and it requires everyone to play his or her part,” he said.
The Secretary-General identified security as a crucial issue for Haiti, where kidnappings are relatively common and crime rates are high, and he called for the judiciary and penal system to be strengthened and the police to be professionalized.
To further that aim, Mr. Annan urged UN Member States to back his plan for a year-long extension of MINUSTAH’s mandate and to appoint additional trainers to assist the national police force.
But he congratulated the country for staging free and fair elections earlier this year and establishing a broad-based government. Haiti’s 18-member cabinet includes representatives from seven different political parties.
Mr. Annan praised the work of MINUSTAH during a meeting with mission staff, and he also held talks with officials of the UN police in Haiti and the national police.
After his visit to Haiti, Mr. Annan travelled to Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, where he and President Leonel Fernández took part in a forum on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Secretary-General is scheduled to give a speech to a gathering organized by the Global Foundation on Democracy and Development and then attend a state dinner with Mr. Fernández.
