Trudeau meets Haiti’s acting prime minister in New York – Winnipeg Free Press

NEW YORK – Justin Trudeau will focus on the ongoing crises in Haiti as he speaks with world leaders Monday ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The prime minister will meet with the Caribbean country’s acting prime minister, Garry Conille, and then deliver a speech at a high-level meeting of a UN advisory group for Haiti.

Conille took on his role earlier this year after former Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced to resign amid growing unrest and violence from criminal gangs who had taken over much of Haiti’s capital.

Later Monday, Trudeau will have a very different kind of conversation during his guest appearance on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Trudeau arrived in New York on Sunday, where he spoke at the Summit of the Future, telling leaders they had a choice to bury their heads in the sand or face global challenges together.

The summit aims to reform the UN, revitalize multilateralism and find solutions to new challenges as the global institution faces criticism over its handling of issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza.

Trudeau instructed leaders to embrace the “Pact of the Future,” a 42-page plan to address a wide range of global challenges of the 21st century.

It was approved by the UN General Assembly at the opening of the two-day summit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked leaders and diplomats for taking the first steps and opening “the door” to a better future.

The pact faced significant opposition from Russia, Saudi Arabia and other countries, which objected to certain wordings on issues such as climate change and reform of international financial institutions.

Its fate remained uncertain until the last moment and UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres had prepared three speeches to be prepared for any possible outcome.

Guterres warned last week that “international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them.” The approval of the pact brought some optimism at a time when increasing geopolitical instability around the world casts a shadow over the meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address a special meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday about the ongoing Russian invasion. Russia has a permanent seat on the Security Council and has been heavily criticized for its aggression in Ukraine, which violates the UN Charter.

Haiti’s ongoing gang violence and political unrest will be front and center for Trudeau on Monday morning. The prime minister is expected to reinforce Canada’s longstanding support for Haitian-led solutions to turn the tide in the Caribbean nation.

Canada has been deeply involved in Haiti’s response to the ongoing humanitarian, security and political crises. A UN report released in June said that increased gang activity had displaced nearly 580,000 people in the Caribbean country since March.

The prime minister will also meet Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and co-founder of the Malala Fund, before attending a working lunch hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will join Trudeau in New York to deliver Canada’s national declaration to the UN General Assembly. The speech will emphasize “Canada’s commitment to advancing multilateral cooperation, human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” according to a press release from her office.

“Given the many global crises, the world needs a strong, effective and modern UN,” Joly said in the statement.