The powers of the United Nations Security Council including the United States on Monday acknowledged that elections in Haiti will be delayed until the second half of 2022, as the impoverished nation is being hit by repeated crises.
The United States, Haiti’s most influential foreign player, earlier pushed for elections this year to restore democratic legitimacy amid a power vacuum.
But the election was postponed indefinitely last week after Prime Minister Ariel Henry fired members of the Interim Electoral Council.
Addressing the Security Council, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti, Helen La Lime, highlighted an agreement last month between political parties calling for a new interim election council and diaspora involvement.
“The agreement provides for elections to be held no later than the second half of 2022,” La Lime said.
Haiti has not had a parliament sitting for more than a year and a half due to disputes, and the country is under the rule of one person by President Jovenel Moise.
Moise was killed in July, and Haiti was later shaken by an earthquake and tropical storm, bringing more instability to a country already devastated by violence.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield did not object to the election deadline.
She called on the Haitian authorities to “move quickly to restore the country’s democratic institutions”, but did not give an election date.
“The United States supports a comprehensive process, led by Haiti, defining the path to democracy through free and fair elections as soon as conditions allow,” she said.
“The Haitian government, political parties, civil society, religious leaders, the private sector and the diaspora must work together in the interest of the people to return to democratic governance.”
China and Russia, which often fight with the United States over human rights, both raised the treatment of Haitians.
“We hope that the human rights and dignity of Haiti migrants will be properly protected,” said Chinese envoy Geng Shuang, calling for an urgent political transition in Haiti.
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