CRI听力: UN Security Council Authorizes 3,500 more Peacekeepers for Haiti

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday authorizes a request from the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for as many as 3,500 new peacekeepers and police to be sent to Haiti. This will boost the U.N. force in Haiti to more than 12,000. CRI's correspondent Shen Ting filed the report.
Report:

The Security Council passed a resolution unanimously on Tuesday, backing Ban Ki-moon's call to increase the overall force levels of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti. The move is to support the immediate recovery, reconstruction and stability efforts following last week's devastating earthquake.
Chinese Ambassador to UN Zhang Yesui, President of the Security Council for January, said the council's unanimous decision to authorize 1,500 more police and 2,000 troops for the next six months demonstrates the importance it attaches to supporting the post-disaster situation in Haiti.

"The purpose of sending more peacekeepers and police to Haiti is to help maintain peace and stability as soon as possible, to support disaster relief efforts and to help restore capacity-building and post-disaster reconstruction."(www.hXen.com)

Zhang Yesui said the adoption of this resolution will facilitate more effectively the implementation of important tasks by MINUSTAH, or the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. According to Zhang Yesui, the new mandate will be six months, and the Security Council will keep the matter under review. He stressed that the United Nations should play a leading and coordinating role in disaster relief and humanitarian aid work in Haiti.

"We believe the UN should take a leading and coordinating role during the disaster relief and humanitarian aid work in Haiti. There are some serious challenges confronted with disaster relief work, such as the public security, the humanitarian delivery and the reconstruction. On all these issues, the United Nations should play a positive role."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced his gratitude to the Security Council for its swift action.

"These are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures and extraordinary decisiveness. I am therefore grateful to the Security Council for its swift action today."

Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to try to get the extra forces on the ground as quickly as possible.

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