Education World

UN Deputy Secretary- general Asha-Rose Migiro, visiting Haiti three months to the day after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, has discussed with President Rene Preval the challenges facing the impoverished country, including education reform, law enforcement and social and political stability, Martin Nesirky, the UN spokesman, told reporters here on Monday.

Migiro is also surveying the efforts of the UN and the Haitian government to protect camp residents from sexual violence and related problems, Nesirky said.

Migiro, who arrived in the Caribbean country on Sunday, spent several hours at a camp in downtown Port-au-Prince, the ruined capital, where she held informal talks with residents and formal meetings with women’s groups, who complained of sexual abuse in the camps.

She assured them of UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s firm resolve to work with the Haitian government and its partners to improve their conditions. In dispatching Migiro, Ban voiced particular concern at reports of sexual violence against women and children.

“Today she is meeting with the UN Mission leadership and leaders of various humanitarian clusters working on delivering assistance and providing protection to displaced Haitians,” Nesirky said. “She will also visit the town of Leogane, which was the epicenter of the earthquake to discuss child protection issues with Haitian officials.”

The United Nations plays a central role in uniting the world to pool resources for the humanitarian relief, economic recovery and reconstruction in quake-hit Haiti.