UN Security Council extends mandate of mission in Haiti

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for another year.

As mandated by the resolution, MINUSTAH will continue its operation until October 15, 2009 while maintaining its current force of 7,060 troops and 2,091 police.

In the resolution, the Security Council welcomed the recent formation of the government of Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, encouraging "all relevant Haitian political, social and economic actors to strengthen democratic dialogue and forge the widest and most inclusive possible consensus."

The resolution recognized the impact that the civil disturbances in April and the current devastating hurricane season have had on the country's stability and security.

The resolution also urged the international community to continue its support for Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, in the face of the humanitarian, economic and social crisis caused by the continuing rising global food prices, as well as the destruction left by the four back-to-back tropical storms that battered Haiti from mid-August to mid-September.

The text welcomed the imminent deployment of MINUSTAH's 16 maritime patrol boats in support of the Haitian National Police's Coast Guard and also encouraged MINUSTAH to implement recommendations made in the secretary-general's report regarding prison overcrowding.