The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a 12-month renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti ("BINUH"). Switzerland is in favour of this renewal in light of the increasingly precarious security situation in the country.
Haiti is in the midst of a serious political, security and humanitarian crisis. Numerous gangs control most of the capital Port-au-Prince and are increasingly terrifying the population with murders, kidnappings and rapes. The authorities, for their part, are in a weak position as crimes escalate. The Council meeting took place two years after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
The UN Secretary-General's latest report, published this month, attests to the scale of the crisis. In these difficult circumstances, "the Council must show unity in renewing the mandate of BINUH to enable it to fulfil its mission effectively", asked Pascale Baeriswyl, Switzerland's ambassador to the UN in New York. BINUH's work on the ground is essential, in that it strives to support the Haitian authorities against impunity and to lay the foundations for lasting peace.
