This morning, French Foreign Minister told the press that Hedi Annabi, the head of the U.N. mission in Haiti, had been killed when the mission's headquarters in Port-au-Prince's Hotel Christopher collapsed, but the U.N. has not yet confirmed Annabi's death. Here's secretary general Ban Ki-moon:
First of all, I do not, and we do not, have any exact information.
What we can assume is that the total at the time that the earthquake
struck the MINUSTAH headquarter, there were around 100 or 150 people
still working. They were having important meetings. We are still not
aware of having any information.
It's not clear on what basis Kouchner was making his definitive statement.
Meanwhile, U.N.-watcher Matthew Russell Lee is looking into whether the Hotel Christopher complied with U.N. safety standards and hasn't yet been given an answer. While it's quite possible that even a code-compliant building might have collapsed the category 7 quake, Lee notes,
since the bombing and partial collapse of the UN
headquarters in Baghdad in the Canal Hotel, all UN facilities are
supported to be inspected for, and pass, so called MOSS compliance.
Facilities in Afghanistan have been evacuated for failure to meet
this standard.
Ban is expected to give an informal briefing to U.N. member states at 4. The U.N. mission in Haiti comprises 9,000 military and police personnel and nearly 2,000 civilian staff.
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