UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2021) The UN Security Council will gather for an emergency meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the situation in Haiti after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated.
Moise was fatally wounded in an overnight attack on his residence in Petion-Ville, a suburb of the capital of Port-au-Prince. Haitian First Lady Martine Moise was injured in the attack and underwent a medical treatment.
The United States and Mexico requested the UN Security Council's presidency, held by France in July, to call an urgent meeting to discuss the situation in the Caribbean country.
"Given the current situation in Haiti, Mexico and the United States ask the presidency to arrange for consultations tomorrow morning on Haiti," US and Mexican diplomats said in a joint request to the UN Security Council president.
The two countries also asked the UN Security Council presidency and the Security Council Affairs Division to identify a briefer from the UN Secretariat to provide an update on the situation in Haiti after the assassination.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the bloc of three elected African states in the UN Security Council - Kenya, Niger and Tunisia - joined the request for consultations, which was shortly after approved by the presidency.
The consultations are set to take place right after the Security Council holds its already scheduled meeting on the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel at 10 a.m. (EDT).
The Special Representative for the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) Helen Meagher La Lime was later confirmed to brief the UN Security Council.
A diplomatic source at the world's body told Sputnik it is possible the UN Security Council will produce a joint statement following the upcoming meeting.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday strongly condemned the "abhorrent act" of the killing of the Haitian leader and called on Haitians to remain calm and preserve the constitutional order.
The United Nations mission in Haiti reported the situation on the ground remained "fairly tense but calm," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
BINUH, consisting of some 1,200 personnel, had been advised to stay in a safe place as the personnel was being accounted for throughout Wednesday.
Haitian Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph's office said based on preliminary data, the assassination was carried out by an "armed detachment" consisting of foreigners.
In light of this information, the government introduced a "state of siege" for a period of 15 days in order to ensure the capture of the perpetrators.
