Life
Haiti: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposes for reduction in U.N. troops
But the secretary-general said MINUSTAH’s continued presence in Haiti has been increasingly called into question by political bodies and civil society groups.
On May 28, the Haitian Senate unanimously adopted a non-binding resolution calling for the progressive and orderly withdrawal of MINUSTAH by May 2014.
Last year, protesters calling for the withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers clashed with police outside the earthquake-damaged Haitian National Palace in Port-au-Prince. They said they were angry over the cholera epidemic and the alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old Haitian man by U.N. peacekeepers from Uruguay.
Ban said both President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe have “expressed support for a phased withdrawal of the mission as the capacity of national institutions increased.”
According to the Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population, as of June 29 the cholera epidemic had caused the death of 8,173 people and infected 664,282, with 258 deaths and 28,800 infections in the first six months of 2013, Ban said.
The secretary-general urged international donors to ensure the funds and expertise required to eradicate cholera in Haiti, which he called “a challenging task requiring a long-term commitment.”
Earlier this month, researchers from Yale Law School and the Yale School of Public Health said there is ample scientific evidence to show U.N. troops inadvertently brought cholera to Haiti in October 2010. They said the U.N. should take responsibility.
