UN / HAITI

STORY: UN / HAITI
TRT: 2:55
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 17 JUNE 2021, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior

17 JUNE 2021, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Wide shot, civil society member of screen at Security Council
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen La Lime, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“Even though national authorities have sought to widen consultations on the new draft constitution, the process continues to illicit criticism from various stakeholders due to its perceived lack of inclusivity and transparency. Technical preparations for the referendum have also been plagued by critical operational delays. Moreover, the ever-growing polarization of Haitian politics, as evidenced by some actors' recently exhorting the population to resort to violence to disrupt the referendum process, is extremely concerning.”
5. Med shot, acting Haitian Prime Minister
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen La Lime, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“It is the duty of Haitian authorities to end the violence, protect the population, ensure unfettered humanitarian access to those in need, provide emergency assistance to those who have been displaced and hold the perpetrators of such acts accountable for their crimes.”
7. Med shot, representatives at Security Council meeting
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen La Lime, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“To ensure that the opportunity of a democratic renewal of Haitian institutions is ceased, that the right of every Haitian to live in a peaceful and stable environment is upheld, that each and every citizen of the country has access to justice, social services and the opportunity of a livelihood, it is imperative that local, parliamentary, as well as presidential elections take place as scheduled in the fall of this year. To that end, all Haitian stakeholders must urgently set aside their differences, askew their narrow interests and work together to tackle the protracted political, structural and social issues that hinder the country's progress.”
9. Med shot, representatives at Security Council meeting
10. SOUNDBITE (French) Claude Joseph, Acting Prime Minister, Haiti:
“While we wait for the opposition to final embrace dialogue and working together as the only way to finding a successful way out of this political impasse, the executive has assumed his responsibilities towards his people. He is committed to holding elections at all levels by the end of the year in order to renew the political landscape, restore the operation of all democratic institutions and ensure the transfer of power to a legitimately elected president on the 7th of February 2022.”
11. Med shot, representatives at Security Council meeting

STORYLINE:

The Head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Helen La Lime, said it was imperative that local, parliamentary, as well as presidential elections take place as scheduled in the fall of this year and called on all Haitian stakeholders to “urgently set aside their differences, askew their narrow interests and work together to tackle the protracted political, structural and social issues that hinder the country's progress.”

Addressing the Security Council today (17 Jun), La Lime said the country had experienced a resurgence of COVID-19 cases which prompted authorities to declare new state of health emergency and led the constitutional council to postpone the constitutional referendum scheduled for the end of this month. She added that a resurgence of gang violence has also caused the displacement of hundreds of families in Port-au-Prince.

The UN official said, despite several Haitian-led mediation efforts, the deep-rooted political crisis which has gripped the country for the better part of the last four years shows no signs of abating.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helen La Lime, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“Even though national authorities have sought to widen consultations on the new draft constitution, the process continues to illicit criticism from various stakeholders due to its perceived lack of inclusivity and transparency. Technical preparations for the referendum have also been plagued by critical operational delays. Moreover, the ever-growing polarization of Haitian politics, as evidenced by some actors' recently exhorting the population to resort to violence to disrupt the referendum process, is extremely concerning.”

The BINUH chief said all forms of violence or incitement to violence are unacceptable and must be strongly condemned. She stressed that an inclusive and participatory electoral process would be essential to consolidate the path towards good governance and political stability in the country.

La Lime said the debate over the constitutional referendum should not detract from the timely organization and hold of the over-due parliamentary, local, and presidential elections. She added that a political consensus remains the best means to holding a peaceful process and stressed that good-faith dialogue among political and civil society leaders is important to ensure an orderly, democratic transfer of power to the duly elected representatives of the Haitian people in February 2022.

The UN official said the last months were marked by worrying incidents and human rights violations by gangs against the civilian population. She said repeated episodes of gang violence resulted in the displacement of over 16,000 people from Port-au-Prince since the beginning of the year.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helen La Lime, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“It is the duty of Haitian authorities to end the violence, protect the population, ensure unfettered humanitarian access to those in need, provide emergency assistance to those who have been displaced and hold the perpetrators of such acts accountable for their crimes.”

Despite complexity of the situation, La Lime said the UN in Haiti continues to work hand in hand with authorities to address the immediate challenges as well as the structural causes of instability that impede progress, while seeking to enhance the impact of collective interventions. She appealed to member states to contribute to the 2021 humanitarian response plan which still requires some 198 million USD to respond to the needs of 1.5 million people.

SOUNDBITE (English) Helen La Lime, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“To ensure that the opportunity of a democratic renewal of Haitian institutions is ceased, that the right of every Haitian to live in a peaceful and stable environment is upheld, that each and every citizen of the country has access to justice, social services and the opportunity of a livelihood, it is imperative that local, parliamentary, as well as presidential elections take place as scheduled in the fall of this year. To that end, all Haitian stakeholders must urgently set aside their differences, askew their narrow interests and work together to tackle the protracted political, structural and social issues that hinder the country's progress.”


Claude Joseph, Acting Prime Minister of Haiti, said the country has faced an extremely difficult socioeconomic situation characterized by recurrent attempts to destabilize the situation orchestrated by some fringe elements of the opposition which strives on disorder and instability.

Joseph regretted that the UN Secretary-General’s report did not take into consideration what he described as significant progress achieved in the country over the past three to four years including in the promotion and respect for human rights, the combat against corruption, improvement of governance and strengthening the rule of law.

The Acting Prime Minister reaffirmed the determination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse to work towards achieve a peaceful atmosphere through dialogue and working together with all the political forces in Haiti including political parties and NGOs

SOUNDBITE (French) Claude Joseph, Acting Prime Minister, Haiti:
“While we wait for the opposition to final embrace dialogue and working together as the only way to finding a successful way out of this political impasse, the executive has assumed his responsibilities towards his people. He is committed to holding elections at all levels by the end of the year in order to renew the political landscape, restore the operation of all democratic institutions and ensure the transfer of power to a legitimately elected president on the 7th of February 2022.”

Joseph said the Haitian Government was aware of the extreme complexity of the situation, which is why it is trying to take all necessary measures to eliminate gang violence and kidnappings and to restore security throughout the country. He underscored that, to achieve this, Haitian authorities need the support and solidarity of the international community, particularly in terms of technical assistance and strengthening the operational capacity of the national police.