CRI听力: Ban Calls for More Peacekeepers to be Sent to Quake-devastated Haiti

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for an additional 3,500 United Nations troops and police officers to be deployed to Haiti, so as to ensure that aid reaches the victims of the earthquake disaster as quickly as possible. CRI's correspondent Shen Ting has more.

Reporter:

Upon his return from Sunday's visit to Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked the Security Council on Monday for an extra 1,500 police officers and 2,000 troops to reinforce the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti to augment its 9,000 uniformed personnel already on the ground.

Ban Ki-moon said the "heartbreaking" scenes he witnessed in Haiti "compel us to act swiftly and generously."(www.hxen.net)

"I saw vast destruction and vast need. Haiti needs immediate and urgent support, and it requires a massive response from the international community."

Following his day-long visit to Haiti, Ban Ki-moon identified two main challenges now confronted with aid work in Haiti.

"Two challenges stand out: First, to unplug the bottlenecks. We need to make sure that our help is getting to people who need it, as fast as possible. The second and most important challenge is coordination."

According to Ban Ki-moon, the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, know as MINUSTAH, and others taking part in the operation have agreed on a clear division of responsibilities regarding the provision of security and humanitarian support. He said the United Nations should take a leading role as a coordinator.

"The international community supports the United Nations to take as a leading role as a coordinator. That is no doubt, and no question out of that. And UN will continue to do that. We will try to have mechanism established in a more structured way."

Following the meeting, the Security Council expressed support for Ban Ki-moon's proposal in a press statement read out by Ambassador Zhang Yesui of China, which holds the rotating presidency for January.

"The members of the Council express their support to the proposal of the Secretary General to increase the overall level of MINUSTAH, to support the immediate recovery and stability efforts."

The 15-member body is expected to pass a resolution on Tuesday to ratify this proposal.

Shen Ting, CRI News, UN Headquarters in New York.