UN Envoy: Haiti Faces Humanitarian Catastrophe

    Image copyright: AP [via Al Jazeera]

    The Facts

    • Addressing the UN Security Council on Monday, Haiti's UN envoy warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" amid severe gang violence and an economic and political crisis that has reportedly taken the island nation to "new levels of desparation."

    • This comes as weeks of violent protests in Haiti continue to escalate after interim PM Ariel Henry announced an end to government fuel subsidies on September 11, which prompted a surge in gasoline and diesel prices.


    The Spin

    Pro-establishment narrative

    The current chaos and misery in Haiti make one thing clear: The island nation is not in a position to help itself. Therefore, in addition to military intervention to establish order, there's now an urgent need for economic intervention — organized in the form of a "shared governance." Only with the help of the international community is there any hope that the Caribbean island will get back on its feet.

    Establishment-critical narrative

    While there's certainly an urgent need for international aid, it's time for a different approach in Haiti. In the past, so-called "international assistance" included harmful Global North policies that prioritized foreign interests over Haiti's long-term development and conditional loans that trapped the island nation in a cycle of unjust debt and aid dependence. The only way to truly help this country is to focus on policies that fortify its self-determination and self-sufficiency.


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