At the beginning of October, Haiti’s government appealed to the outside world for support in a situation where the population is starving, disease is spreading and armed gangs are exercising increasing control. But no country has stepped forward voluntarily to send troops.
— Insecurity has reached levels not seen before and human rights violations are widespread, said British-Nigerian Amina Mohammed before the UN Security Council, where she hammered home the message from Secretary-General António Guterres that an intervention is required.
— Armed gangs have increased their violent crimes, using murder and gang rape to terrorize and oppress society.
The UN’s special envoy to Haiti, Helen La Lime, told the council that at least 280 murders took place in the country in November alone and that kidnappings continue to rise. Cholera is spreading and around 20,000 people are living in conditions described as famine-like. The capacity of the Haitian police agency is constantly diminishing.
There have been UN-led interventions in Haiti before, in 1994 and 2004. It was followed by allegations of rape and that foreign soldiers brought cholera and started an epidemic that killed nearly 10,000 people.