The United Nations Security Council approved, today, an extension of the mission of the UN Stabilization Force in Haiti (MINUSTAH), coordinated by Brazil, until February 15, 2006.
The new resolution is intended to guarantee security through the period of elections scheduled for the end of this year, according to the commander of the force, General Augusto Heleno Pereira:
“The new President will take office on February 7, and the mission is slated to remain until the 15th.”
The Council’s decision also provides for dispatching a temporary reinforcement of 800 additional troops to Haiti, increasing the total to 7,500. According to the general, a date has not yet been set for the arrival of these soldiers.
“It is hard for the Department of Defense to find a UN member country willing to send troops to Haiti. There are currently 17 peace missions around the world, and it is difficult to staff all the missions up to the limit permitted in the respective resolutions.”
Brazil has 1,200 soldiers in Haiti. The MINUSTAH arrived in the country in June, 2004, with the mission of guaranteeing Haiti’s social and political stability after the ouster of ex-President Jean Bertrand Artistide in February, 2004.
ABr – www.radiobras.gov.br