MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Mexican diplomat Carlos Ruiz as special representative to Haiti, BINUH, the U.N.’s office in the embattled Caribbean nation, said on Thursday.
Ruiz had worked as special representative for Colombia since 2019, BINUH said, where he monitored the implementation of the country’s peace agreement and worked on recent peace talks between the government and armed guerrilla groups.
Ruiz is set to succeed Ecuador’s Maria Isabel Salvador in the role as Haiti faces a worsening conflict fueled by powerful, heavily-armed gangs that have driven nearly 1.3 million people from their homes and are expanding to new areas despite efforts from national police.
A voluntary U.N.-backed force has also partially deployed to Haiti to boost local police but has struggled to make headway, hampered by shortages in troops, funds and equipment.
BINUH’s work includes supporting and advising the government as well as tracking and monitoring human rights abuses and the security trends, including gangs’ territorial control, killings, kidnappings and civilian displacements.
In a July 1 letter to the U.N. Security Council seen by Reuters, Guterres said he planned to reevaluate the office’s 2026 budget in view of a smaller headcount following repeated evacuations due to the “dire security situation” in Haiti.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland in Mexico City and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)
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