<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">On a visit to spotlight violence and chaos in Haiti, the UN secretary-general on Saturday called for a robust international effort to help the country's beleaguered police in fighting rampant criminal gangs.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>For months, Antonio Guterres has raised the alarm bell about the situation in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, which has been wracked by spiralling violence, a worsening public health situation and political instability.</div><div><br></div><div>But he traveled to Port-au-Prince -- his first visit to Haiti as head of the United Nations -- to make his point on the ground.</div><div>"We must put Haiti on the international political map, and make the tragedy of the Haitian people the international community's top priority," Guterres told a press conference.</div><div><br></div><div>"I met Haitians, and I felt the exhaustion of a population that has been facing a cascade of crises and unbearable living conditions for too long," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>"This is not the time to forget about Haiti," Guterres said after meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Henry, and other political and civil society leaders.</div><div><br></div><div>Guterres urged the UN Security Council, which is due to discuss the Haiti situation later this month, "to authorize the immediate deployment of a robust international security force."</div><div><br></div><div>In October, he relayed Henry's request for a non-UN force to support the overwhelmed national police force.</div><div><br></div><div>But the call has gone unheeded. A few countries have indicated their willingness to participate, but none has volunteered to lead an operation in a country where multiple past foreign interventions have become mired.</div><div><br></div><div>"I call on those states that have the capacity to provide a robust security force to stop hesitating and be ready to follow a Security Council decision," Guterres said.</div><div><br></div><div>"Every day counts. If we don't act now, instability and violence will have a lasting impact on generations of Haitians." - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>