Haiti forms new government to tackle gang violence

A new government has been formed in Haiti in an attempt to restore order to the violence-torn country.

The new cabinet completely replaces all ministers in the government of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was forced to step down earlier this year due to the gangs that controlled much of Haiti.

The announcement of the new cabinet comes two weeks after the country’s transitional government council appointed Gary Conier as interim prime minister.

Under the decree, he will also serve as interior minister. official gazette of haiti.

The formation of Haiti’s cabinet is a further sign of the country’s efforts to restore a degree of political stability to a country plagued by months of violence and uncertainty.

A spokesman confirmed that the transitional council appointed all key cabinet positions and their ministers.

Mr. Cornier’s lawyer Carlos Hercules will serve as justice and public security minister, and Haiti’s ambassador to UNESCO, Dominique Dupuy, will serve as foreign minister.

Princeton-educated Ketleen Florestal takes over as finance minister from Michel Patrick Boisvert, who also served as interim prime minister this year.

While some Haitians will be encouraged by these first steps toward normalcy, especially The country’s international airports recently reopenedOthers remain deeply concerned about the scale of the task facing the new cabinet.

Gangs still control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and gang leaders refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the interim council or any transitional leadership.

Last year, the United Nations pledged to send a Kenyan-led security force to bolster Haiti’s beleaguered police, but it has not yet been deployed.

Although plans to deploy some 1,000 Kenyan police officers to try to restore order have yet to materialize Kenyan President William Ruto reiterated his support for the plan in an interview with the BBC last month.

Mr Henry agreed to resign in March after armed groups blocked his return to Kenya from Kenya for talks with President Ruto.

Gangs have taken advantage of the power vacuum left by the prime minister’s ouster to expand control over large swaths of the country that have become effectively lawless.

The United Nations described the situation in Haiti as “catastrophic” in a report released last month.

The report states that more than 1,500 people have been killed and 800 injured in the first three months of 2024.

The report details “harrowing practices” by the gangs, who are accused of using extreme violence and sexual abuse as a means of punishment and control.

Aid groups have reported difficulties in delivering food and water to the capital and warned that millions of people are struggling to make ends meet, with some on the brink of famine.

Haiti’s problems worsened when the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 plunged the country into turmoil. Gangs have expanded their control over the country while displacing thousands of civilians.

The country has been without a president since the assassination and has no current Congress.

• This Caribbean country borders the Dominican Republic and has an estimated population of 11.5 million
• With a land area of ​​27,800 square kilometers, it is slightly smaller than Belgium and about the same size as Maryland in the United States.
• A long history of instability, dictatorships and natural disasters in recent decades has made Haiti the poorest country in the Americas
• The 2010 earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and caused widespread damage to infrastructure and the economy
• The UN peacekeeping force was established in 2004 to help stabilize the country and withdrew in 2017
• In July 2021, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated by an unknown gunman in Port-au-Prince. Amid political stalemate, country continues to be wracked by riots and gang violence