The president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, cautioned on Wednesday that his administration would take “drastic measures” to safeguard the nation if a UN-backed mission geared toward addressing gang violence in neighboring Haiti doesn’t succeed. Talking on the UN Normal Meeting in New York, he didn’t specify what actions he would possibly pursue.
“Greater than three years of instability in our neighboring nation has considerably strained our personal safety,” Abinader stated, noting that the Dominican Republic has taken on an extreme burden in coping with the Haitian disaster. He identified that final yr, 10% of medical appointments concerned Haitian sufferers, and among the many 200,000 international minors within the Dominican training system, 147,000 are of Haitian origin.
“The disaster in Haiti deserves pressing consideration,” he burdened. “We will’t do it alone.”
Underneath Abinader’s administration, greater than 170,000 people believed to be Haitians have been deported final yr, in accordance with authorities statistics. Nevertheless, the UN’s Worldwide Group for Migration estimates the determine to be over 224,000.
Activists have lengthy condemned President Abinader and his administration for what they declare are ongoing human rights violations in opposition to Haitians and people born within the Dominican Republic to Haitian mother and father. Abinader has rejected these accusations, reiterating on Wednesday that “the Dominican authorities is profoundly dedicated to defending human rights.”
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In his tackle, he identified that the Dominican Republic’s poverty fee is at a historic low of 19%, and the homicide fee has decreased to 10 per 100,000 inhabitants, down from 13 in 2022.
In the meantime, in Haiti, gangs management 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and their affect has elevated for the reason that assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Studies point out that over 3,600 individuals have been killed within the first half of this yr, a greater than 70% rise in comparison with the identical interval final yr. The surge in violence has left almost 700,000 Haitians homeless in recent times, driving 1000’s to flee Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.
Abinader expressed gratitude to Kenya, which is main the mission in Haiti with almost 400 cops from the East African nation, lately joined by nearly two dozen police and troopers from Jamaica, in addition to two senior navy officers from Belize. An extra 300 Kenyan police are anticipated to deploy inside a month.
Nevertheless, the entire personnel concerned falls considerably wanting the two,500 pledged by numerous international locations for the mission. The U.S. authorities has raised issues a couple of lack of assets because it considers a attainable UN peacekeeping operation.
Abinader emphasised the pressing want for the present mission to be absolutely established to allow free and clear elections in Haiti. The nation has not held elections since 2016, and a transitional presidential council has been mandated to conduct them by February 2026.
“With nearly a yr remaining till elections, the required circumstances are nonetheless not in place,” Abinader remarked, voicing concern over the way forward for the mission. “We can’t permit the progress made to date to fail. If that occurs, Haiti’s collapse could be imminent.”
Edgard Leblanc Fils, president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, is scheduled to handle the UN Normal Meeting on Thursday.
