Assistant Secretary of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols attended a meeting of high-level international partners on Haiti on April 21. Hosted by France, this meeting brought together international partner countries and international organizations for the third time in the past four months in support of progress on the challenges facing Haiti. Participants encouraged political agreement among Haitian actors so that elections can take place as soon as conditions permit.
On April 1, the United States announced that it would partner with Haiti under the United States Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, which complements our existing program in Haiti. As the international community encourages Haitian political actors, civil society and other stakeholders to find consensus and reach a political agreement, now is the time to coordinate future support for security, good governance, democratic institutions and elections.
This meeting also reaffirms our efforts to provide advisory support, training and other resources to the Haitian National Police (PNH). In addition to deploying additional trainers and renovating PNH training facilities, the United States delivered 60 new vehicles to the PNH. The United States is working with HNP leaders to develop an elite unit capable of high-impact arrests and anti-gang operations, as well as to expand its community policing efforts to regain citizens’ trust in the neighborhoods affected by gangs.
We congratulate our partners who have also contributed to strengthening the operational capacities of the PNH. We continue to work with partners and international organizations to support Haiti’s response to complex security challenges.
