Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry did not mention Taiwan during his address on Friday at the UN General Debate because of the “extraordinary circumstances” that his country is facing, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said yesterday in Taipei.
Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) made the remarks when asked why the Haitian leader did not mention Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, during his address at the 78th General Assembly in New York.
Haiti is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally among the 12 that are official UN members that did not bring up the issue of Taiwan being excluded from the international body during their respective addresses.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Another Taiwanese ally, the Holy See, is not a member of the UN, but an observer, so it rarely speaks about political issues during UN meetings.
Sun said that every year before the General Assembly, representatives from the ministry and Taiwanese embassies in allied countries communicate with those governments in the hope they would support Taiwan’s bid to be included in the UN “in the most appropriate way they can.”
Despite the Haitian leader not directly mentioning Taiwan in his UN address, he did mention the importance of self-determination and upholding universal principles, which are in line with Taiwan’s call for meaningful participation in the UN, Sun said.
Sun did not elaborate, but according to the ministry, he was referring to part of Henry’s speech that said Haiti “has always been present to help brotherly peoples in their legitimate struggle for freedom and self-determination, sometimes even within the UN.”
An unnamed diplomatic source said that Haiti has been embroiled in widespread political, economic and security crises since former Haitian president Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home in July 2021.
That is why Henry focused more on the continuing unrest in his country during this year’s address and did not directly mention Taiwan, they said.
Sun yesterday said that all of Taiwan’s allies, including Haiti, would send a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in support of Taiwan’s request to play a more active role in the international organization.
He did not say if the Holy See would be involved in the letter-sending event, which has taken place for several years as part of the Taiwan government’s campaign to be included in the UN system.
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