UN chief to visit Haiti next week

UN chief to visit Haiti next week


MEXICO CITY, March 2 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to make an official visit to Haiti next week, hoping to encourage international assistance to the Caribbean country, local reports said on Monday.

Ban will visit Haiti from March 9 to 10 in company with former US president Bill Clinton, creator of charity organization Clinton Global Initiative, according to Alain Le Roy, chief of United Nations peacekeeping operations.

It is the right time to increase aid to Haiti as security in the country has improved under the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Haitian media quoted Roy as saying.

The MINUSTAH's international police chief in Haiti, Mamadou Diallo, said Friday that thanks to the UN peacekeeping mission, social security has risen to "an acceptable level."

"Once lawless neighborhoods that were occupied by armed groups are today accessible to everyone", he said, adding that crimes like kidnapping has also been under control.

Haitian media also confirmed that a delegation of UN Security Council, led by Jorge Urbina, Costa Rica's ambassador to the United Nations will arrive in Port-au-Prince on March 11 for a two-day visit.