UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) and the acting General Assembly president Byrganym Aitimova(C) mourn during a plenary session in UN headquarter in New York, January 22, 2010. At least 70 UN personnel were killed in the earthquake that struck Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince January 12, 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday calling on the international community to provide "speedy, sustainable and adequate" support for quake-hit Haiti. [Xinhua]

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday calling on the international community to provide "speedy, sustainable and adequate" support for quake-hit Haiti.

Approving the resolution by consensus, the 192-member body called for early international response to the UN flash appeal of US$575 million for Haiti.

The General Assembly urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon and all relevant UN bodies and international financial institutions and development agencies to "continued effective humanitarian, technical and financial assistance."

Through the resolution, the assembly expressed its solidarity and support to the government and people of Haiti as well as to all member states that have lost nationals in this catastrophe.

It also paid special tribute to all the staff members of the United Nations and international peacekeepers who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Speaking to the assembly plenary session, Ban said that at least 70 UN staff had been killed and 146 were as yet unaccounted for.

"But we must expect that the death toll will continue to rise," he said.

According to government estimates, at least 75,000 people have been killed, 200,000 were injured and one million have been displaced.

More than 50 rescue teams from around the world have rescued 123 people alive from the rubble, Ban said.

"Food, water, medicine, and shelter are all in short supply. Three million people need help. Two million people require food assistance. One million people are homeless," the secretary- general said.

Ban disputed some news reports about anarchy and violence in Haiti.

"The security situation in Haiti remains stable. The United Nations is playing the principal coordinating role, working with the government of Haiti in ensuring security," he said.

"Incidents of looting and unrest remain the exception, despite some news reports to the contrary," he stressed.

He emphasized the need to rebuild the impoverished Caribbean nation and "turn disaster into opportunity."

The international community must help the Haitian government reconstitute itself, restore basic services and jump-start the economy, he said.

On top of restoring the government, governance must be improved, and along with rebuilding factories, the right environment to draw ever greater investment must be created, Ban noted.

"And we need to provide jobs, not only to those who lost their jobs last week, but to the millions of Haitians who did not have a job in the first place," he emphasized.

"The people of Haiti are not looking for handouts," the secretary-general, who visited the country on Sunday, said.

To this end, the UN has launched a cash-for-work program to " help Haitians help themselves" by paying them to clear rubble from the street, distribute urgently-needed aid and build camps for those made homeless by the quake.

Representatives of the 192-member body of the 64th UN General Assembly mourn during a plenary session in UN headquarter in New York, January 22, 2010. At least 70 UN personnel were killed in the earthquake that struck Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince January 12, 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Friday calling on the international community to provide "speedy, sustainable and adequate" support for quake-hit Haiti. [Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2010)