To characterize the conditions today in Haiti as staggeringly grim would be a gross understatement.

Indeed, the situation on the ground in the chronically impoverished country has clearly gotten worse over the last six months. But the community of states has largely chosen to look away rather than to confront the problem head-on.

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As a result, gang violence continues to surge and horrendous crimes go unpunished – such as murder, rape and kidnapping – while the drug trade deepens its grip on the country. These criminal gangs control almost 90 per cent of Haiti’s capital, a large portion of the north-western Artibonite area and a handful of municipalities in the Central Plateau region.

Add to that the fact that over 1 million Haitians (half of whom are children) have been internally displaced and hunger is becoming more widespread (with almost 6 million people having trouble finding food and medicine). Hospitals have also had to close, schools are barely hanging on and there is no such thing in Haiti as a social safety net.

Furthermore, there have not been legitimate democratic elections held in Haiti for almost 10 years. And Haiti’s current nine-person Transitional Presidential Council has been plagued by internecine politics,........

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