Haitian authorities must do more to prepare the Country for the planned withdrawal of the country’s UN peacekeeping mission, Bintou Keita, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Security Council on Thursday.
"Time is of the essence to make concrete progress on Minujusth's mandate implementation," Bintou Keita, assistant UN secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told the Security Council, using the acronym of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti.
Minujusth and the UN country team in Haiti as well as the Haitian government will need to redouble efforts to make up for the time lost because of the violence in early July, given the time-bound nature of the mandate and transition process, she said.
The government's announcement in early July to remove fuel subsidies triggered massive protests and violence.
Since the July violence, the Haitian authorities have not tried to remedy the root causes of the precarious social conditions. The risk of major troubles remains high as political and socio-economic triggers exist, she said.
Keita said dedicated intervention to spur progress is required for all transition targets to be achieved by October 2019.