By Sarah Morland
Sept 3 (Reuters) – Haiti’s foreign minister urged the U.N. Security Council on Thursday to renew the mandate of an international force supporting the country’s police, saying stronger backing is needed if Haiti is to hold its first election in a decade amid widespread gang violence.
• Speaking at a meeting of the Organization of American States, Foreign Minister Raina Forbin called for the force to deploy fully as soon as possible and for the Security Council to extend its 12-month mandate before it expires this month.
• “We need technical, financial, logistical and safety support that is up to the challenge,” Forbin said, referring to Haiti’s plan to hold elections on December 13. “We must now move from solidarity to action.”
• OAS Secretary-General Albert Ramdin said talks with Haiti’s provisional electoral council showed an urgent need for more support. About 1 million national identity cards still must be produced and distributed before voting can take place, he said.
• Ramdin said the OAS would deploy an Electoral Observation Mission at Haiti’s request and already had personnel in the country to help support a credible vote.
• Haiti’s electoral council has extended deadlines for some pre-election steps and plans to publish its list of candidates on October 14.
• Haiti has not held elections since 2016, as successive governments repeatedly postponed a vote while armed gangs expanded their control and later united in a broad alliance.
• The country first requested foreign military assistance in 2022. An initial U.N.-backed force deployed in 2024 but struggled with limited resources, and its mostly Kenyan troops withdrew earlier this year.
• A new U.N.-mandated mission, the Gang Suppression Force, was authorized a year ago. Justin Gorkowski, who co-leads a U.S. oversight team, said about 20% of the force is now deployed in Haiti.
• “The force is focusing its limited resources on priority areas,” Gorkowski said. “We’re building this mission from the ground up; it takes time.”
(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry)
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