Wu Haitao (C, Front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, votes in favor of a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), during a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2019. The UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) should not be too much involved in the domestic human rights issues of the country, Wu Haitao said here on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) should not be too much involved in the domestic human rights issues of the country, said a Chinese envoy on Friday.
China believes that the Security Council bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and that MINUJUSTH should focus its work on assisting Haiti in dealing with peace and security issues, said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.
Security Council members should have had more consultations on the draft resolution to further bridge differences and strive for consensus, Wu told the council after a vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution on MINUJUSTH.
The Security Council voted 13-0 with two abstentions to extend the mandate of MINUJUSTH for the last time, paving the way for a transition to a non-peacekeeping UN presence in Haiti. Russia and the Dominican Republic abstained.
Wu said China hopes that Security Council members will be united in the following consultations on post-MINUJUSTH arrangements in order to promote peace, stability and development in Haiti.
The extension of MINUJUSTH's mandate till Oct. 15, 2019 will be conducive to the efforts of the mission to help the Haitian government take over responsibility for national security, and to achieve an orderly exit of the UN mission, said Wu.
China voted in favor of the draft resolution as it is in the interests of Haiti and regional countries, he said.
Explaining his country's decision to abstain, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said that human rights issues in Haiti do not constitute threats to international peace and security.
Friday's resolution "underscores the urgency for the government of Haiti to take all appropriate steps to ensure respect for and protection of human rights by the HNP (Haitian National Police) and the judiciary as an essential element of Haiti's stability, and calls on MINUJUSTH to provide monitoring and support in line with its mandate in this regard," he said.
MINUJUSTH is a smaller police mission than its predecessor, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which had military personnel. MINUJUSTH replaced the stabilization mission in October 2017.
Friday's resolution marks the end of more than 15 years of UN peacekeeping in Haiti.
