Third Senior-Level International Partners Meeting on Haiti

Office of the Spokesperson

Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian A. Nichols, attended a senior-level international partners meeting on Haiti on April 21.  Hosted by France, this meeting convened 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 accord among Haitian actors so elections can take place as soon as conditions permit.

On April 1, the United States announced it would partner with Haiti through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, which complements our existing programming in Haiti.  As the international community encourages Haitian political actors, civil society, and other stakeholders to find consensus and reach a political accord, this is an opportune time for coordinating future support for security, good governance, democratic institutions, and elections.

This meeting also reaffirms our efforts in providing advisory support, training, and other resources to the Haitian National Police (HNP).  In addition to deploying additional trainers and refurbishing HNP training facilities, the United States has delivered 60 new vehicles to the HNP.  The United States is working with HNP leadership to develop an elite unit capable of high-impact arrests and anti-gang operations, as well as expand its community policing efforts to regain the trust of citizens in gang-affected neighborhoods.

We commend our partners who have also contributed to building the operational capacity of the HNP.  We continue to work with international partners and organizations to support Haiti’s response to complex security challenges.