UN chief urges nations to consider deploying forces to help Haiti
JUNE 28, 2009 — The President of the United States is calling on all nations to consider deploying military and other assistance to Haiti and other U.S. territories as response to the massive earthquake that has leveled mountains and left thousands of people dead.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on June 27, “U.S. assistance is already underway for Haiti.”
“I am calling on all nations to consider this,” Clinton told reporters at a press briefing in Washington, D.C.
Clinton spoke at the U.N. to urge nations to consider sending in the help. She said the U.S. assistance is already ongoing.
In addition to all the troops already on the ground, she also said “we have a long list of things that we are looking at to help Haiti and I would say to Haiti’s leaders we are standing by to help them make decisions about their future.”
President Barack Obama has said he has assembled a team from all sectors of the U.S. government, some experts and a team from the private sector to begin to respond to Haiti, which suffered the world’s largest natural disaster in terms of deaths, at least 15.2 million people. Haiti received more than 100,000 emergency calls on that Friday, said U.S. Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano.
The U.N. Security Council’s “emergency session” on Haiti has been scheduled for July 3. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to announce the new aid response plan in a news conference to be held Monday.
The Haitian government has been criticized by some Haitian observers for its handling of the tragedy. Some have accused the government of mismanaging the aid, a charge the government dismissed.
Clinton said, “I believe in an orderly and effective response that is also transparent, that looks to help Haitians make sure that their government is doing everything they can do for them in order to make sure they have the resources they need to get back on their feet.”