Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Haiti.
The United Kingdom welcomes the strong regional participation in this meeting including Foreign Ministers from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Colombia as well as the representatives of Suriname, Canada and Kenya.
President, at least one Haitian was killed, kidnapped or injured every hour as a result of gang violence in 2024.
Gangs continue to use executions, kidnappings and sexual violence as tools of oppression against civilians.
This violence, compounded by profound political and economic instability, has displaced over one million Haitian people, fundamentally disrupting the fabric of Haitian society.
We call on Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, and his government, to work towards the restoration of security in Haiti and to the establishment of free and fair elections.
We strongly urge all political actors to work together in the interests of all the Haitian people.
The targeting of commercial aircraft by gangs demonstrates the dangerous lengths they will go to forcibly exercise control over Haitian life.
The United Kingdom is deeply concerned about the severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies, which are exacerbating the suffering of the Haitian people.
Restoring stability to Haiti is essential to peace and security in the region. We commend the work of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti and pay tribute to Kenya for their leadership.
The UK has provided financing to support the mission's human rights compliance framework.
It is clear that the security challenges are becoming more complex.
We recognise the request from the Haitian Transitional Presidential Council to transition the MSS Mission to a UN Peacekeeping Operation.
We look forward to the Secretary General's report on recommendations and believe that a peacekeeping operation could offer the best hope for restoring longer term security for the government and people of Haiti.
