Haiti, 2025

The Assembly will now hear the statement of His Excellency, Mr. Antony von der Rhein-Zancier, President of the Presidential Transition Council of the Republic of Haiti. I request protocol to accompany His Excellency, and I invite him to speak before the Assembly. Madame President of the General Assembly, Secretary General, Distinguished Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Heads of Delegation, Distinguished Delegates, it's with a sense of gravity and a great deal of hope that I convey the voice of Haiti and the greetings of a dignified and resilient people which, despite hardships, is claiming for itself and for all of humanity three universal promises, development, respect for human dignity, and peace, peace, which is now an absolute imperative for the Haitian people. On behalf of this people, Madame President, I would like to warmly congratulate you on your election as President of this Assembly. I also would like to thank Secretary General Antonio Guterres for his unwavering commitment to our organization and his constant and multifaceted support for the Republic of Haiti. Ladies and gentlemen, the theme of this session, Better Together, 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights, honors the outstanding work carried out over the past decades. It also recalls the importance of remaining unified and resilient in the face of the unprecedented crises threatening the future of the planet, as well as international peace and security. Today, hunger is threatening millions of lives. Armed conflicts are multiplying and extreme poverty is deepening, causing forced migrations that jeopardize international stability and that put the solidarity between nations to the test. In addition to these challenges, we also are dealing with climate change, the rise of terrorism, mass atrocities, transnational crime, the erosion of human rights, and disinformation. We cannot turn a blind eye to the urgent need to strengthen our health care systems, to ensure a just energy transition, and to promote gender equality and youth inclusion. These issues require us, the world leaders, to shoulder our responsibility to build a UN that is better adapted to the challenges of today and the hopes of tomorrow. We must ensure that all of our actions, including technological breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence, foster peace, development, and human dignity. Ladies and gentlemen, just a four-hour plane ride from here, a human tragedy is unfolding, one of the most devastating of our hemisphere. Every day, innocent lives are extinguished by bullets, fire, fear. Entire neighborhoods are disappearing, forcing more than a million people into internal exile and annihilating memories, investment, and infrastructure. Thousands of children have been deprived of their fundamental right to education. Thousands of young people are condemned to despair. Thousands of women and girls have been raped, and they will forever carry the scars of this violence in their bodies and souls. Almost half of the population is facing acute food insecurity. The health care system is collapsing. Hospitals are being vandalized, burned, or forced to shut down. Doctors are fleeing. Lives are being lost due to a lack of treatment. Even the treatment for persons living with HIV and tuberculosis is under threat. This is the face of Haiti today, a country at war, a modern-day Guernica, a human tragedy at the doorstep of America. Only a four-hour flight from here. It's important to say this. Haiti is experiencing a war, a war between criminals that want to impose violence as their social order, and an unarmed population that is fighting for human dignity and freedom. The response must be firm and determined. Today, the international community must stand alongside Haiti and take large-scale measures, not half-steps. A strong, coordinated, and immediate action is needed. Silence and inaction are not an option. We must act quickly to protect lives, to protect the innocence of children, to provide youth with a future, and to allow citizens to decide their own future at the voting booth. Every minute lost means human lives sacrificed and an erosion of democracy. Haiti wants peace. Haiti expects peace. Haiti has the right to peace. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, peace today is the most pressing need of the Haitian people. It is the raison d'etre behind our tireless battle, the battle between our security forces, led by our peace and security forces, and the multinational security support mission. Many policemen and soldiers have fallen in the war against criminal groups. We pay tribute to these heroes, Haitian and Kenyan, who have laid down their lives for their commitment to restoring peace and security in Haiti. Today, out of the 2,500 troops initially required and promised, there are only 1,000 members of the multinational mission on the ground. Their courage, combined with our own efforts, have not been sufficient to contain the security crisis. And yet, we have increased by 40 percent the budget for our security forces, we've recruited new members, we have strengthened our troops and acquired more material and equipment. We must face the reality. Haiti is at the epicenter of an unprecedented regional threat. Powerful and heavily armed criminal networks are trying to destabilize our country and take over the economies of our entire common space. The new front lines of this battle are in our country, in Haiti. If we lose this battle on our soil, it will be futile to try to contain it in the rest of the region. That is why we must show the same determination, the same resolve and the same unity that we showed in the fight against terrorism. Haiti could never overcome this challenge single-handedly. Today, it is crucial to mobilize a strong force with a clear mandate and with adequate material, logistical and financial resources. In this regard, the lessons of the MMS and recommendations of Haitian experts must be taken into account. We also need heightened international cooperation based on intelligence sharing and on rigorous border control to curb the flow of arms, ammunition, drugs and financing toward these gangs. Peace cannot be restored unless our regional partners take concrete measures to ensure their territories do not serve as a starting point or a transit hub for this kind of trafficking. Approaches that failed yesterday will not save Haiti today. It is critical to listen to the voice of the Haitian people to try new solutions that are stronger and more adapted to the realities on the ground. In this regard, we fully support the efforts made to transform the multinational security support mission. We also call for solidarity from the entire international community, especially for the commitment of members of the Security Council for a vote in favor of the resolution establishing a gang suppression force. That is why I would like to express on behalf of the Haitian people my profound gratitude to the United States and to Panama for this initiative, the implementation of which will mark a turning point in our fight against insecurity, which is suffocating our nation. I thank the administration of President Trump for the efforts made to provide support and resources in our common fight against the gangs, these enemies that are threatening both Haiti and the entire region. Today, the complexity of the Haitian crisis cannot serve as a pretext for endless talk, for drawn-out negotiations, or for stalemates caused by geopolitical considerations. Every day that we hesitate, criminal groups benefit. We urgently need to be proactive, to transcend divisions, to act together, to promote the values that bring us together, peace and human dignity. Haiti would welcome the holding of a high-level meeting to overcome obstacles and to make tangible progress. In this regard, we welcome the countries of the region and thank them for their constant support, especially through declarations in various regional organizations, including the Organization of American States and CARICOM. We appreciate their support and advocacy with partners in the Security Council for a real solution to the security crisis in Haiti. We also pay tribute to all of those states which, during previous crises, stood by our side and expressed the hope to be able to count once again on their commitment. Together, we can and we must resolve this crisis which has lasted for too long already. Twelve million women, men, and children are expecting this of us. Ladies and gentlemen, the Presidential Transition Council was born of a consensus that stemmed from intense negotiations between the nation's political parties. This Council, established and supported by various international partners and facilitated by leaders of CARICOM, has a clear agenda which centers on holding free and credible elections. I repeat, free and credible elections. Despite the many challenges caused by the security crisis, the electoral process for which the PTC and the government have shown real political will has made real headway. The Electoral Council, Provisional Electoral Council, has already identified more than 85 percent of the voting centers, mobilized more than 70 percent of the elections personnel, and national financing to the tune of $65 million is guaranteed. The Presidential Transition Council is working closely with the MMS, the OAS, CARICOM, and BINU to ensure free, transparent, and inclusive elections, reflecting the sovereign will of the Haitian people and guaranteeing the full and effective participation of young people, women, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups. To ensure productive political cooperation, constant efforts are being made and will continue to expand dialogue with the various political parties to strengthen consensus and to prevent a power vacuum which would be fatal for democracy and stability. The Haitian people must be able to choose its own leaders. The state wants credible elections. Our greatest challenge remains restoring security. The urgent and solemn call that we have once again issued to resolve the security crisis in Haiti must not be left to languish on paper nor be lost amid rhetoric and unkept promises. In Haiti, peace can no longer wait, ladies and gentlemen. The transitional period does not allow us to launch all of the major federal reforms the country needs, but the humanitarian crisis we are currently experiencing must be overcome. To this day, the Haitian state has provided 72 percent of emergency assistance for IDPs and is assisting families to relocate. We are profoundly grateful to our international partners that have assisted us in the humanitarian response. And we are keenly interested in the promising initiatives put forward by those which, like the Association of Caribbean States, have chosen to join our effort. But our strategy is not limited to immediate assistance. We must move from assistance to investment. To this end, the government is determined to develop two major economic hubs, the Great North and the Great South, based on strategic sectors such as agro-industry, textiles, renewable energy, tourism, and services. Haiti will continue to count on its key partners to weather this difficult period and to relaunch its economy. We call for their support through the establishment of concrete mechanisms such as the renewal of the HOPE HELP law or launching urban renovation projects which will allow us to create jobs, to put an end to the humanitarian impasse, and to reduce migration pressure on Haitians in the region. Ladies and gentlemen, 2025 marks the bicentennial of the order forcing Haiti to pay a ransom for recognizing its own independence. We call for reparations, not out of bitterness or vengefulness, but out of a desire for justice and truth. We live with satisfaction the statement by the French presidency recognizing the need to open spaces for dialogue and historic truth, as well as the resolution of June 5, 2025, of the French National Assembly recognizing the injustice of this ransom. Haiti has established a National Reparations and Restitution Committee. We call for this progress to be accompanied by concrete action. France, which is the cradle of human rights, today has the opportunity to write a new chapter in its history with Haiti by honoring the ideals of freedom, equality, and fraternity that unite us. Ladies and gentlemen, I must underscore the invaluable support provided by the Haitian diaspora throughout the world, who are often living in hardship. Whether in America, in Europe, in Africa, or elsewhere, the millions of Haitians living abroad contribute to the development of Haiti. We are undergoing a multidimensional crisis, and we call for patience and understanding from our partners and friends so that our nationals are always treated with respect and dignity. Behind every migrant there is a face, a family, a history, and a contribution to be made to their new country of residence. Haiti reaffirms its commitment to dialogue and to bilateral cooperation in the spirit of neighborliness and mutual respect to identify balanced and long-term solutions to Haiti's problems. The safe and orderly circulation of goods and of people, especially through air transport, is crucial for a shared future and common prosperity. Ladies and gentlemen, the Haiti of tomorrow deserves peace and prosperity, a future based on independent judiciary, universal education, affordable health care for all, and an economy that provides every citizen with the same chance at success. This future also requires bold reforms, independent justice, and an end to impunity. On April 16, 2025, we enacted a decree establishing two specialized judiciary bodies, one to litigate crimes and complex financial infractions and another to prosecute mass atrocities and sexual violence. We are making progress toward making these bodies operational. We are prepared to continue down this path. This is not the time for Haiti fatigue. The international community does not have the right to turn away from Haiti's situation. In light of this crisis, silence would not be neutrality, it would be complicity. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to pay tribute to the Haitian people. Representing them here is the greatest honor of my life. Beyond my functions as President of the Presidential Transition Council of Haiti, I am a real active Haitian citizen with a profound love for my homeland, a land of freedom and dignity, a land of courage and talent. Haiti is not a nation that has given up. We are a great people, a people that stands together, men and women who have sacrificed for their homeland and for humanity. Haiti is not a playground for armed criminals, but rather it is a nation on its feet, comprised of dignified, resilient families who every day, despite terrible adversity, are fighting for a better future. I pay tribute to my fellow countrymen and women, who are without a doubt among the most resilient people on Earth. They deserve better. Giving them new hope is my only mission, and that is why now I call upon you to stand side by side with Haiti. We must build peace in Haiti, for the Caribbean, for the Americas, for all of humanity. Thank you. On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Presidential Council of the Transition of the Republic of Haiti.