On 12 January 2010, the United Nations experienced the single largest loss of United Nations personnel life in a tragic earthquake in Haiti where one hundred and two of our colleagues perished.
 
The catastrophe left an indelible scar in Haiti claiming the lives of two hundred thousand Haitians and displacing more than one million people.
 
This loss is also a reminder of the risks that we face, deployed around the world, in the service of peace, security and stability.
 
As an official of the UN, I am heartened that seven years after this tragedy, Haiti has found its path to political stability with the election of a new president and parliament and I stand with the people of Haiti, and all of our colleagues around the world, in honouring the memory of those we lost but whom are never forgotten. We continue to stand together to ensure a better, safer, and healthier year for the people of Haiti in 2017 and beyond.