Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in an address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, vowed to find those responsible for the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
The highly anticipated speech comes amid reports that could implicate the prime minister himself in the murder.
“I want to reaffirm here, at this platform, my determination to do everything to find the collaborators, accomplices, and sponsors of this odious crime,” he said in a prerecorded video message.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing, no political maneuver, no media campaign, no distraction, could deter me from this objective: rendering justice for President Moise,” he said, in his only allusion to the allegations against him personally.
What is the PM accused of?
Henry’s address comes days after he fired his chief investigator and prosecutor, who had asked a judge to charge the prime minister in connection with the assassination.
Port-au-Prince prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude also asked that Henry be barred from leaving the country.
According to the prosecutor’s report, Henry had communicated with a key suspect in Moise’s killing on the night of the assassination.
“The judicial inquest is going difficultly,” Henry said on Saturday. “It’s a transnational crime. And, for that, we formally solicit mutual legal assistance. It is a priority of my government for the entire nation.”
‘Migration will continue’
Henry also addressed the migrant crisis at the US-Mexico border where tens of thousands of people, mostly Haitians, have arrived since early September.
In his address to world leaders on Saturday, Henry said that migrants would continue to try and reach prosperous countries despite the disturbing images of Haitians being detained at the US border.
“In recent days, the images of the treatment of several of my compatriots on the border between Mexico and the United States have shocked more than one,” he said.
Scenes of US border guards on horseback aggressively rounding up the migrants have drawn widespread condemnation of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Human beings, fathers and mothers, are always going to flee poverty and conflict. They will always strive to offer better living standards to their children,” Henry said. “Migration will continue as long as there are areas of prosperity on our planet while most of the world population lives in precariousness, sometimes extreme, with no prospect of a better life.”
