"Haiti is not hopeless", the President of the UN General Assembly said on Monday during a meeting addressing the multiple crises besetting the Caribbean nation, alongside the presidents of the UN Security Council and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Dennis Francis, a veteran diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago, said he had returned from a visit to Haiti at the end of last month "with hope and the full knowledge that while Haiti is facing extraordinary challenges, its future holds indomitable promise."
The country has seen almost 4,000 killed and 3,000 kidnapped in gang-related violence just this year, following a political, economic and security crisis that has left much of the country descend into lawlessness.
Driving in the streets of Port au Prince, I saw visible signs of hope - sustained by the undying resilience and perseverance of the Haitian people - who seem to create inventive ways to meet the daily challenges", Mr. Francis told the meeting.
'No shortage of potential'
"There is, in my view, no shortage of potential in Haiti - and it is not too late that, as the international community, we must do something to accompany the Haitian people, further", he said noting that the most pressing need is for greater security.
"Uncontrollable violence has robbed and continues to rob the Haitian people of their freedoms and rights; and it is stifling the country's path to sustainable development", he said.
Around 40 per cent of Haiti's healthcare workers have reportedly left the country, while women and girls have been subject to brutal sexual violence "with many living in a cycle of fear and trauma."
Credibility at stake
He said "we cannot be credible, as the UN and the international community, to just look the other way."
Mr. Francis noted that the much-needed deployment of a Multinational Security Support Mission authorized by the Security Council on 2 October, has not materialised.
