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Haiti: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposes for reduction in U.N. troops
U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended a 15 percent reduction in the number of U.N. troops in Haiti last week and an examination of whether the beleaguered peacekeeping operation remains the best way to support to the Caribbean nation.
The force has been under intense scrutiny for years and is widely blamed for a massive cholera outbreak. Protesters who oppose the mission have held running battles with authorities in the streets of Haiti and the country’s Senate has called for its removal.
Ban, in a report to the Security Council, said he intends to hold talks with the government of Haiti and other nations “to explore the best way for the United Nations to continue contributing towards greater stability and development in the country.”
He said he will discuss the option of replacing the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSTAH, “with a smaller, more focused assistance mission by 2016” and include proposals on the way forward in his next report to the council in March 2014.
In the meantime, he recommended reducing MINUSTAH’s military strength from 6,270 to 5,021 by June 2014.
The U.N. mission also has 2,601 international police, including 50 corrections officers, who are helping to train the Haitian police force and bring its strength to a minimum of 15,000 by 2016.
“While challenges remain, the progress made in the stabilization of Haiti since MINUSTAH’s initial deployment in 2004 is considerable,” Ban said.
