Embarking on a 'road to peace, tolerance and prosperity.'(Haiti)

The United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH), set up by Security Council resolution 867 (1993), was extended on 29 February "for the final period of four months", until 30 June, in order to help the Government of Haiti sustain the "secure and stable environment which has been established" and professionalize the Haitian National Police.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1048 (1996), the Council also decided to decrease UNMIH's troop level to "no more than 1,200" and reduce the current level of civilian police personnel to "no more than 300". Concurrently, the Council asked all States to provide appropriate support for the actions undertaken by the UN in order to carry out the Mission's mandate. (Canada has sent a 700-strong military contingent to complement the UN forces.)

The Council also asked the Secretary-General to take steps for the Mission's further reduction, consistent with the implementation of its mandate, and "initiate planning" not later than 1 June 1996 for its complete withdrawal.

Member States were also urged to make voluntary contributions to the trust fund established by resolution 975 (1995) for the support of the Haitian National Police to "ensure that the police are adequately trained and fully operational, which is essential for the implementation of the mandate".

Formidable challenges

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on 14 February, in recommending (S/1996/112) that UNMIH be extended for a "further period of six months", stated that "much remains to be done before it can be said that democratic rule is secure in Haiti and its people have embarked irreversibly on the road to peace, tolerance and prosperity".

Although Haitians could be proud of what had been done in the short period since the October 1994 return of constitutional government, they still faced "formidable challenges", he said. Important and useful as international assistance might be, it was "ultimately the Haitians themselves, and they alone, who are in charge of their present and responsible for their future", the Secretary-General stressed.

It was essential that the international community's continued commitment to Haiti at a time of acute financial crisis in the UN be "matched with a renewed commitment by the Haitian people, by their political and civil leaders, and by their Government", Mr. Boutros-Ghali stated. "This opportunity is unique in Haiti's long and often turbulent history. It could not be missed without grave consequences", he...