UN's Haiti rights expert says fixing Haiti crisis is 'doable'

By Sarah Morland

(Reuters) - The United Nations' Haiti rights adept connected Tuesday said helium believed solving a spiraling insecurity situation successful the Caribbean federation was "doable," if instrumentality enforcement are decently supplied and neighboring countries bash their part.

"We're talking astir 2,500, possibly 3,000 well-trained and equipped planetary police. It's doable," William O'Neill, the U.N. High Commissioner's Designated Expert connected Human Rights successful Haiti, told a property briefing.

The U.N. Security Council is acceptable to statement a hybrid information enactment exemplary that would found a budgeted bureau to assistance proviso an existing, voluntary ngo aft deficiency of contributions has near it woefully under-manned and under-equipped.

Haiti's government, which has called for urgent planetary information enactment since 2022, much precocious requested a ceremonial U.N. peacekeeping ngo to boost under-staffed police, but this met absorption from Russia and China.

But O'Neill said the enactment bureau could assistance proviso cardinal instrumentality specified arsenic spare parts, helicopters and capable vehicles for navigating Haiti's superior and mountainous agrarian terrain.

He besides called for neighboring countries, peculiarly the U.S. - the root of astir of Haiti's amerciable arms - to bash much to forestall the travel of amerciable guns to transgression groups, noting that Haiti's borderline constabulary are not equipped to forestall their entry.

"There's not a weapon oregon slug that's manufactured successful Haiti," helium said. "If you halt the flow, the gangs volition yet tally retired of ammunition. That's a quicker, faster, safer mode to dismantle them than having to spell successful and combat them."

He besides urged the United States, Dominican Republic, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos to halt deporting migrants backmost to Haiti.

"You cannot warrant a dignified harmless return, which is required nether planetary law," helium said.

Over 1 cardinal radical are internally displaced, nutrient prices are soaring and Haiti's Le Nouvelliste paper reported that the affluent suburb of Petion-Ville, which hosts diplomats via chopper pads, was 1 of the capital's past escaped communes.

"The hazard of the superior falling nether pack power is palpable," O'Neill said. "There is not a time to lose."

(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Natalia Siniawski successful Mexico City; Editing by Sandra Maler)