S/PV.9095 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2022/560, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Mexico and the United States of America. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2645 (2022). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

The United States welcomes the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), and we thank the members of the Security Council for their support. Resolution 2645 (2022), which we put forward with our co-penholder, Mexico, is based on the recommendations of the Secretary-General and is intended to ensure that the United Nations has the mandate it needs. As a result, BINUH will continue its critical advisory efforts in support of facilitating political dialogue, enhancing the capacity of the Haitian National Police to address gang violence and protecting human rights. The mandate reflects the key challenges facing Haiti, including the need to address illegal arms trafficking and illicit financial flows and the fact that the Security Council is ready to consider taking measures, as appropriate, to address those challenges. Coordinated and enhanced support from the international community remains essential to promoting stability in Haiti. Once again, we must also note that it is long past time for Haiti’s stakeholders to set aside their differences and to reach agreement on a political framework that will allow Haiti to hold presidential and legislative elections when conditions permit. We will continue to demand progress from Haiti’s political actors in resolving those long-standing challenges and remain steadfast in our support for the people of Haiti.

Haiti has been one of the most complicated and intractable challenges on the Council’s agenda. For China, each time the Council discusses the mandate of a United Nations mission, the key has never been whether to renew it or not, nor has it been the length of the renewal. It is about what kind of mandate is needed for the mission and what kind of mandate can effectively help the people of Haiti. The United Nations began its engagement in Haiti in the early 1990s, yet Haiti today, compared with 30 years ago, is hardly in any better shape. On the contrary, it is caught in a more severe crisis. Anyone who truly cares about the Haitian people and the reputation of the United Nations will have grave concerns over that. Exactly what has gone wrong? How can the Security Council really make a difference and break the vicious cycle? Last October, with the facilitation of China and other Council members, the Security Council requested that the Secretary-General conduct an assessment of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) in the light of the actual conditions in Haiti (see resolution 2600 (2021)), which would serve as a reference for the Council to strengthen the mandate in a targeted manner. Over the past nine months, Haiti’s State institutions have been paralysed across the board. Most of the country has fallen into a security vacuum. Gang violence has become more rampant, and the economic and humanitarian situations have been in free fall. That fully demonstrates that the strategic assessment and the fundamental adjustment of the mandate of BINUH are imperative. Just as the Security Council was in consultations on the draft resolution, gang clashes broke out near Port-au- Prince, and the situation has worsened to an appalling state. Meaningful Council action is long overdue, and we cannot afford to miss another opportunity to renew the mandate this time. While fully taking into account the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s assessment report, the strong aspirations of the Haitian people and the concerns of Haiti’s neighbouring countries and countries of the region, China put forward specific, reasonable and feasible proposals on advancing the political process, stepping up police capacity-building, combating illicit flows of weapons and finance and strengthening port and border management, among other things. We welcome the fact that resolution 2645 (2022) included many of China’s proposals. We thank the members of the Security Council for their support, and appreciate the positive attitude shown in the final stages by the co-penholders, Mexico and the United States of America. While the resolution just adopted certainly still has room for improvement, on the whole it is nevertheless a right step in the right direction. This resolution sets clear expectations of the Haitian authorities and leaders of political parties. They must shoulder their responsibilities, bear in mind the interests of the country and the people, immediately put an end to the senseless political strife, engage in dialogue on the political arrangements for the transitional period and create the necessary conditions for the early holding of general elections. The leadership of the interim Government in Haiti should have a greater sense of urgency in advancing the political process and report progress satisfactory to the people of Haiti to the Security Council before 17 October. China welcomes the constructive roles played by countries of the region and the Caribbean Community in advancing intra-Haitian dialogue. This resolution raises clear warnings to the gangs that the Security Council is closely following their actions. The gangsters must immediately stop the violence and criminal activities, end the occupation of public facilities and roads and cease all acts of human rights violations. The Security Council will soon impose sanctions on individuals who are gang members or supporters of gang activities, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in order to hold them fully accountable. This resolution also confers a stronger mandate upon BINUH or, in clearer terms, requires BINUH to take on greater responsibilities. We hope that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General will earnestly follow the principle of Haitian-led and Haitian-owned to lead BINUH in working with objectivity and impartiality, making every effort to push for inclusive dialogues among the parties, mobilizing the international community and providing more substantive help to Haiti. Through concrete actions, BINUH should bring confidence and hope to the people of Haiti. We also expect the Secretary-General, as mandated by the resolution, to consult with the Haitian authorities, the relevant countries and regional organizations, with a view to putting forward effective and feasible solutions and recommendations on how to help Haiti fight the gangs. Regional partners with the capabilities should respond actively and contribute to improving the security situation in Haiti. Haiti itself is not a producer of weapons. Yet the weapons possessed by the gangs far surpass those of the Haitian National Police in quantity and quality, which indicates that the illicit trafficking and proliferation of weapons are a source of the ever-escalating gang violence. While supporting Haiti in strengthening its own security capabilities, countries should also act in coordination and unity by banning the participation of their citizens in the trafficking of weapons to Haiti and preventing their territories from being used for such purposes. That is a necessary step in effectively containing the violent activities of gangs and the minimum requirement in showing solidarity with the Haitian people. Regrettably, the resolution failed to provide for that in the strongest terms. We hope that that will not send any wrong signals to the gangs. We urge all countries to effectively strengthen the export control of arms to prevent their illicit flow into the hands of gangs in Haiti. China will also work with the relevant countries in continuing to push for greater Security Council efforts in that direction.

Kenya thanks Mexico and the United States of America for their dedicated efforts to prepare and present resolution 2645 (2022) to renew the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) for 12 months. Kenya voted in favour of the resolution, and we are glad that it enjoyed unanimous support in the Security Council. The changes in the mandate were informed by the independent assessment report and the desire by most delegations for BINUH to be more supportive of Haiti during this difficult period. We look forward to the Secretary-General’s report by 15 October on how to better combat the high levels of gang violence. In the meantime, we join the rest of the Council in urging States Members of the United Nations and regional organizations to do their utmost to support Haiti in combating illicit financial and arms flows. While Kenya appreciates the strengthening of BINUH, we are all too aware of what it is not equipped, or able, to achieve as a mission. The people of Haiti are facing profoundly serious challenges. The most immediate and apparent is the increasing threat of gangs to the lives and livelihoods of Haitians. They are impeding the movement of the people and the flow of humanitarian aid and are adding an even greater burden to an already strained-to-breaking-point economy. The solutions to those challenges require a stable Government, based on strong institutions. However, that is what Haiti lacks today. The reasons are complex, but underlying them is a lack of unity based on an inclusive vision of Haiti’s future. We, as Kenyans, as Africans, understand just how difficult it is to sustain a competent and stable Government, while trying to overcome poverty, foreign intervention and transnational criminality that has a political dimension. We do not pretend to know the day-to-day realities of Haiti, but we have experience in pulling our countries back from the brink of collapse, using dialogue to arrive at a vision of the future, building Governments of national unity, undertaking fundamental legal and constitutional reforms and holding successful democratic elections. We are ready to share our experiences with Haiti. We are ready not because it is a favour or charity, but because we have an obligation to Haiti and its people. I say to the Haitians that their magnificent revolution of 1791 struck the first critical blow to the ending of the mass enslavement of African peoples, to colonial tyranny and to the violent and unjust racism on which it was based. Because the people of Haiti stood tall, we Africans are standing tall today. Their revolutionary war against slavery and domination was echoed in our own war against colonialism. Today Haiti is part of the sixth region of the African Union, according to our Constitutive Act. Africa owes it every support. Kenya is ready to act on that obligation. We are proud to have been guided by the spirit of pan- African solidarity in our engagement with the Haiti file while here in the Security Council. We thank the other African members of the Security Council, known as the A3  — without forgetting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which formed the A3+1 — for our common stand for Haiti. Gabon, Ghana, the Niger and Tunisia have all stood by Haiti and I am sure that future members of the A3 will continue to do the same. In that regard, we welcome and support the recent initiatives by the Caribbean Community in support of Haiti and call on the African Union to follow suit. Kenya is determined to do its utmost to find a way to implement the pledge that President Kenyatta made in October, during our presidency of the Council, to provide training for Haitian professionals in our public services, colleges and schools, and we stand ready to do everything in our power to continue working together. Kenya has needed mediation, and we have also offered it. We urge the leaders and people of Haiti to give themselves the gift of dialogue, mediation and reconciliation. We believe that every solution to their challenges must be Haitian-led and Haitian-owned, and despite the divergent views they may have today, we are confident that Haitian political leaders have the will and the capacity to build consensus and chart a viable way forward. We urge the international community, the United Nations leadership and all States engaged with Haiti to always be guided by the belief that Haiti has the ability to attain stability and from there, lasting peace and prosperity. It is that kind of faith in the people of Haiti that will lead us to give them the right kinds of support in their efforts. In conclusion, I want to reaffirm Kenya’s unwavering solidarity with and respect for the sovereignty and political independence of Haiti and its people.

We note that once again, it was anything but simple for Council members to arrive at an agreement on resolution 2645 (2022). In our view, the problem lies in a discrepancy between words and actions. We hear voices on all sides advocating the importance of a speedy political settlement in Haiti, without which no sustainable resolution of the other outstanding issues, including, above all, the most urgent of them, the security situation. At the same time, neither in the reports of the Secretary-General nor the positions of some Council members do we see any willingness to take concrete steps to incentivize Haitian actors to establish a dialogue as soon as possible. The same applies to countering the uncontrolled flow into the country of weapons, which inevitably fall into the hands of rampant gangs. Everyone seems to acknowledge that the problem has reached an unacceptable scale, yet we see no desire to take concrete action. By comparison, we are seeing the total opposite in countries such as the Sudan, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic, where there are attempts to cling on to sanctions regimes at all costs, even when they are becoming a real obstacle to equipping law-enforcement forces. What is that if not a double standard? Even the duration of the mandate of the special political mission in Haiti has become a stumbling block. Take the situation in Cyprus, which is also on the Security Council’s agenda. While it cannot be compared to Haiti, the mandate of the United Nations mission there is renewed every six months, which enables us to keep our finger on its pulse. But when it comes to Haiti, some members seem to believe that the less the Council considers the rapidly deteriorating situation there the better. We believe that with such an approach we can hardly speak of providing the Haitian people with effective assistance to in overcoming the problems they face. One is compelled to wonder whether the Council is making the right decisions on this dossier at all, because we are hearing increasingly loud Haitian voices saying that the mission there has become part of the problem rather than the solution. One thing is clear, which is that without an urgent and broad dialogue on determining ways out of the crisis and related terms acceptable for all Haitians acceptable, we will never be able to solve all the other problems. That is why we believe that the special political mission’s main task is to assist in establishing a political dialogue. On its part, the Council must ensure that its decisions ultimately guarantee that the Haitians can resolve their problems independently and without external direction. We will contribute to that end in any way we can. All things considered, we did not object to the adoption of today’s resolution, and we hope that the strengthened text will make the United Nations efforts in Haiti more effective.

Ghana welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2645 (2022) today and thanks all Council members for showing the necessary flexibility and constructive engagement throughout the negotiations. We voted in favour of the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti until 15 July 2023 because it enables the United Nations to continue its support with a view to addressing the dire situation on the security, political and socioeconomic fronts in Haiti, particularly with regard to the immediate restoration of public law and order. We note and acknowledge that there are persistent differences among Council members as to what measures will be effective in stamping out the growing gang violence and other threats to peace in Haiti. However, at this critical juncture, it is absolutely essential to ensure that the Council acts in a manner that sends a strong and unified message of its unwavering commitment to ensuring the stability and proper functioning of the Haitian State. It is our hope that the resolution just adopted will serve as a good basis for the Council to continue exploring the additional pragmatic steps we need to help the Haitian authorities preserve peace and stability in their country.

Mexico welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2645 (2022), which renews and strengthens the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). As a co-penholder of the resolution, together with the United States, Mexico thanks all Security Council members for their valuable contributions. The resolution that we have just adopted responds to the deteriorating political, economic and humanitarian situation in Haiti and recognizes the multidimensional causes of those issues. It also makes an unequivocal appeal for an immediate cessation of the violence. With its adoption, the Council is sending a clear message to Haiti’s political actors regarding the urgent need to reach agreements that will enable them to resume a dialogue and restore institutional order throughout the country, as well as to launch a participative and democratic political process. Haiti will have to provide information on the progress made within a reasonable time frame. In terms of security — a critical and unavoidable component that must be dealt with urgently  — the Council has called on every country to prohibit the transfer of arms to gangs and criminal groups, since such weapons perpetuate the cycle of violence that has the country in its grip. We therefore ask BINUH and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to support Haiti in the fight against arms trafficking and illicit financial flows. It is also clear that the Haitian National Police requires support from the international community. In that connection, the resolution urges States to contribute to the basket fund to finance projects for improving security, as well as asking the Secretary-General to consult Haiti and other relevant countries and organizations on possible options that can enable more effective support to be given to the tasks undertaken by the Haitian National Police. With resolution 2645 (2022), the Council is sending a message of solidarity with the Government and the people of Haiti, without ruling out the possibility of adopting additional measures in the not-too-distant future, should circumstances require them.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Brazil. Brazil hopes that the mandate in resolution 2645 (2022), adopted by the Security Council today, will provide the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) with increased financial means and better tools to help Haiti. Haiti has been a priority for Brazil and will remain so. It is worth remembering that while the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti was operational, Brazil deployed tens of thousands of Blue Helmets, as well as every single Force Commander to the peacekeeping operations there, for more than 13 consecutive years. Since then, Brazil has been on the ground providing bilateral assistance to Haiti and developing cooperation projects with the country, which resulted in 2022, inter alia, in the construction of three referral hospitals that represent an important contribution to the Haitian health system and the inauguration of a professional training centre in Les Cayes. As an elected member of the Council, Brazil has engaged in the negotiating process for the renewal of BINUH, with the sole objective of galvanizing efforts to help Haiti overcome the economic, security and political crises in which it regrettably remains plunged. From the outset, we have emphasized that it was paramount to reinforce BINUH in terms of security, capacity and resources in order to help the country control gang violence and reinstate a minimum level of governance. Increasing BINUH’s ability to help national authorities in preventing and responding to sexual and gender- based violence was also a major objective. Although we believe that more could have been achieved if we had had more time for in-depth debate, we hope that resolution 2645 (2022) will encourage and foster positive developments. It is clear that Haiti needs to remain at the forefront of our attention. The Council needs to closely follow the implementation of BINUH’s mandate and new developments on the ground, while carefully considering the need for new measures. Moreover, the resolution includes provisions that require further debate on their implementation. Brazil is willing to engage constructively in such discussions. For the time being, we would like to underscore that prohibiting the transfer of small arms, light weapons and ammunition to non-State actors in Haiti may be an important measure to curb the escalation of violence. However, a monitoring mechanism might be necessary to oversee its effectiveness. With regard to the possibility of imposing appropriate measures against those engaging in or supporting violence, including an asset freeze or a travel ban, Brazil highlights the need to develop monitoring mechanisms, listing criteria, humanitarian exemptions and carve-outs and the conditions for lifting the sanctions. Those parameters are essential to applying such measures in a responsible and effective manner. Furthermore, the Council needs to ensure that such measures, if adopted, do not have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population, especially given the traumatic history of comprehensive sanctions imposed on Haiti in past decades. It is unfortunate that a legal scrubbing of the language on possible sanctions was not thoroughly carried out among all Council members. We reserve the right to further develop the language of the resolution in future meetings. In the light of the seriousness of the situation in Haiti, we note that we would have appreciated having had more time for meaningful discussions on these issues and other measures that the Council could have taken in support of BINUH and the Haitian authorities. In conclusion, I would like to call on all Haitian stakeholders to engage promptly in dialogue to find a political breakthrough that will allow for the re-establishment of institutional normalcy in the country. I would also like to reaffirm that Brazil’s commitment to Haiti is unwavering and that we are not oblivious to the suffering of the Haitian people. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers.