UN official says Haiti peacekeeping a mission accomplished

A Haitian soldier walks past a line of potential recruits in Leogane (Photo: AFP)


The top UN official for Haiti says peacekeepers have accomplished their mission of stabilising the Western hemisphere's poorest nation and she is urging the new government to keep its promises to fight corruption, improve justice and combat poverty especially in rural areas.

Sandra Honore said Haiti today "is far different" than it was in 2004, when the UN deployed peacekeeping troops following a rebellion that left the country on the brink of collapse. And she said she doesn't believe the country is prone to the same forces.

Honore stressed in an interview on Thursday that Haiti still faces many challenges, "but there is a degree of stability, a degree of relative calm all things considered today that was not there before."