A UN delegation was in Haiti this week to take stock of the humanitarian and security crisis. An advocacy mission too, to try to mobilize the international community...."Putting Haiti back at the centre of the international agenda is a challenge," says UN in Port-au-Prince Ulrika Richardson, Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). © UN / O.Salgado Text by: Marie Normand Follow 4 mn A UN delegation was in Haiti this week to take stock of the humanitarian and security crisis. An advocacy mission too, to try to mobiliz

"Putting Haiti back at the centre of the international agenda is a challenge," says UN in Port-au-Prince

Ulrika Richardson, Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). © UN / O.Salgado

Text by: Marie Normand Follow

4 mn

A UN delegation was in Haiti this week to take stock of the humanitarian and security crisis. An advocacy mission too, to try to mobilize the international community. Interview with Ulrika Richardson, Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.

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RFI: A group of UN officials has just completed a two-day visit to Haiti. The country is sinking deeper into a dramatic security and humanitarian situation every day. The observation is known to all, the needs too. So what is the objective of this new mission?

Ulrika Richardson: The objective of this mission was to make the world aware of the extent of the crisis in Haiti, including the crisis of insecurity and human rights violations. This is not just a humanitarian crisis. Before, we came to the aid of people following natural disasters, cyclones or earthquakes, for example, which Haiti knows all too well. But today, the country is facing a multidimensional crisis, caused by the presence of about 300 armed gangs in the capital.

The level of violence is extremely striking. Gangs use this violence to instigate fear, terror. Women and girls are victims of sexual violence. Many people are displaced as a result of this violence. Today, one in two Haitians is in need of emergency food assistance. Hunger has increased. Access to water and health services, education and social protection has become very complicated. There is also galloping inflation, a depreciation of the local currency. All this creates a very precarious situation for the population and especially for the most vulnerable.

Entire municipalities in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince are in the hands of gangs, as are national roads that lead to the various departments of the country. How do you deliver aid?

In the capital, we manage to gain access to a large part of the vulnerable populations. We benefit from a high level of information and analysis that allows us to circulate. Of course, we would like to do more. On the other hand, to reach the north and south of the country, the roads are blocked by gangs. We must use transport organised by the United Nations and sometimes also maritime transport to help the people.

This security crisis also affects your staff. Are you able to recruit locally?

Our staff is not immune, they have the same concerns as the rest of the population. Some staff have problems with their families. They would like to believe in a much more prosperous future for their country. Because of this very serious situation, many Haitians are taking significant risks to leave Haiti. I must say that it is not always easy to find the national frameworks for our operations. But we find them and anyway, we could not do anything without them, they are really the most important pillar.

The cholera epidemic returned to Haiti in October 2022. Is it under control today? Is the answer provided and sufficient?

We look at the situation with a certain positivism. We have not emerged from the epidemic, but we can say that the situation is contained. This was made possible thanks to a rapid response from the government and especially from public institutions, but also through cooperation with the United Nations. That said, we must not let our guard down because cholera requires a lot of follow-up work.

This week's mission is also for you a communication mission to the international community. Is it easy to put Haiti on the agenda of the international community?

It's a challenge. When we talk to Europe, for example, Haiti is a bit far away... Europe is more concerned about what is happening in Ukraine. There is also the tragedy in Turkey and Syria. It absorbs a lot of attention. So, it is not easy to put Haiti back on the map. But I hope, and I am convinced, that Haiti will not be forgotten. In any case, here on the ground, we continue to do our work. And we hope that with a little greater solidarity from the international community, we will be able to do more.

"Putting Haiti back at the centre of the international agenda is a challenge," says UN in Port-au-Prince

"Putting Haiti back at the centre of the international agenda is a challenge," says UN in Port-au-Prince

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