UN chief urges nations to consider deploying forces to help Haiti after earthquake
A new U.N. report urges the world body to mobilize extra humanitarian aid for the devastated Caribbean nation of Haiti.
The draft report, which will be debated by the U.N. General Assembly in September, said “the only force standing between Haiti and a catastrophic loss of life is international humanitarian assistance.”
The appeal to deploy military and other resources was based on the “concrete, specific and imminent” threat posed by a massive earthquake that hit Haiti last month.
The draft United Nations Security Council report said that “the only force standing between Haiti and a catastrophic loss of life” – an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 to 9.2 – is humanitarian aid. And it urged the global body to mobilize an “extraordinary response” that involves the “immediate deployment of a military force” as well as other support.
The draft document also urged the U.N. secretary-general to convene an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the issue.
The U.N. Office for Project Services said Thursday that the Haiti report is being finalized. It said it is still waiting for the draft U.N. Security Council document to be approved and ready for release.
“Once the draft report comes out … it will be available for review by members of the General Assembly and its member states,” it said.
The Haiti report was approved last week by the U.N. Security Council, which also asked the U.N. head to “urgently convene the Emergency Meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation in Haiti,” a request that was approved and sent to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week.
However, Ban’s office said he “has not had any discussions with the Secretary-General on this issue and looks forward to hearing his views on the matter.”
The U.N. Office for Project Services said Friday that the draft report is not final and it “will be reviewed as part of the preparation of the report,” a process that “can take several months.”
In the coming weeks, Ban would also receive a comprehensive report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which is expected to “examine in detail” how the U.N. could be better prepared to respond to a catastrophic natural disaster that