PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday called for renewing a United Nations mandate for an international security mission to help Haiti fight armed gangs that have taken over much of the country’s capital and expanded to nearby regions.
The mission’s mandate, first approved for 12 months, is set to expire at the start of October, but has seen few results with few troops on the ground and far less funding than hoped.
“At this critical moment you need more funding, you need more personnel to sustain and carry out the objectives of this mission,” Blinken told a press conference in Port-au-Prince.
He said he planned to convene a ministerial meeting at the U.N. General Assembly this month, to encourage more financial contributions as well as to renew the mission’s mandate.
Blinken said a U.N. peacekeeping mission could be an option to gain sustainable results.
“Much remains to be done and we’re determined to continue,” he said. “It’s starting to move.”
Blinken met with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille and the head of its presidential council Edgard Leblanc Fils during his visit. He also announced a further $45 million in humanitarian aid for Haiti.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Harold Isaac, Kanishka Singh and Sarah Morland; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)