OAS warns Haiti needs help as it prepares to hold elections for the first time since 2016

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Albert Ramdin, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said Wednesday during a trip to Haiti that the country needs help fighting gangs and seizing back territory as it prepares to hold general elections for the first time in more than a decade.

Ramdin spoke as he concluded a trip to the troubled Caribbean country, where he met with the prime minister and other officials.

He said the new U.N.-backed gang suppression force needs more personnel, equipment and funding.

“The efforts of the (force) are essential to improving security and public safety, and to creating the conditions for a safe electoral process,” he said. “Progress must be visible and measurable as soon as possible.”

Ramdin said priorities are securing the main route to the main international airport; ensuring ongoing access to the airport and seaport; and restoring safe access to Haiti’s southern region. Gangs currently control the main routes leading in and out of the capital.

He also called on Haiti to step up registration and identification of voters ahead of the Dec. 13 general elections. Haiti hasn’t had a president since Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021. Since then, gang violence has only surged, displacing a record 1.5 million people.

Ramdin promised to keep “mobilizing political, technical and financial support” for the Caribbean country.

He said the OAS will work with the Pan American Health Organization to build trauma centers to treat wounded Haitian police officers as they continue to push back against gangs that control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land beyond the capital.

Ramdin said he also plans to set up a delegation of business leaders to talk about potential investment projects in Haiti, where poverty, hunger and unemployment are deepening.

“Haiti is at a decisive point,” he said. “The future of Haiti belongs first and foremost to the Haitian people. But the international community also has responsibilities.”