UN calls for more peacekeepers to be sent to quake-devastated Haiti

(19 Jan. 2010): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for an additional 3,500 UN troops and police officers to be deployed to Haiti, which was devastated last week by a 7 magnitude earthquake, to ensure that aid reaches the victims of the disaster as quickly as possible. Ban, who on Monday visited the capital, Port-au-Prince, asked the Security Council for an extra 1,500 police officers and 2,000 troops to reinforce the UN peace keeping mission in Haiti, known as MINUSTAH, to increase its 9,000 uniformed personnel already on the ground. The heartbreaking scenes we witnessed, compel us to act swiftly and generously, Ban told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. He said “The Haitian people need to see that today is better than yesterday. They need to believe that the future will be better than the past.”
Following his day-long visit to Haiti, Ban identified two main challenges. First, he said, any bottlenecks in the aid operation must be resolved to ensure that the relief reaches people in need as quickly as possible. The second and most important challenge, is coordination of that effort, said Ban. Although he went to Haiti with a very heavy heart, Ban said he drew strength from the Haitian people’s remarkable calm and patience as they seek to overcome their difficulties.