UNITED NATIONS,Thalif Deen/IPS - Hedi Annabi, head of the U.N. Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), hurriedly left New York Wednesday heading to the politically-troubled Caribbean nation, where more than 7,000 U.N. troops have been deployed since June 2004.

Annabi was in New York to address the Security Council Tuesday where he warned of a "political dimension" to the current unrest in Haiti.

"The growing public discontent had the clear potential to undermine (U.N.) efforts at stabilisation," he told delegates.

Last week, four people were killed in demonstrations against rising living costs. The demonstrators, in the town of Les Cayes in southern Haiti, attacked and burned shops and fired at U.N. peacekeepers.

The three largest contingents in MINUSTAH are from Brazil (1,213 troops), Uruguay (1,146) and Nepal (1,110).

While expressing "concern" over the violence in Haiti, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "deplored" the attacks against MINUSTAH personnel and facilities, as well as against the government of Haiti and private property.

He also expressed his "sympathy for the suffering that the Haitian people are enduring as a result of rising food and fuel prices."

A high-level conference of international donors is scheduled to take place in the capital of Port-au-Prince on Apr. 25.

Annabi has urged donor countries and the private sector to work with the Haitian authorities to find creative ways to generate what he called a "stability dividend", which would provide immediate and tangible improvements in socio-economic conditions.

This, he said, should include urgent humanitarian assistance followed by long-term agricultural aid to increase crop yields.

In a 19-page report to the Security Council, Ban said it remains urgent to address the immediate hardships experienced by the Haitian population, 76 percent of whom still live on less than two dollars a day.

"Weak purchasing power remains a constant preoccupation in connection with basic daily items and imported goods, which represent some 60 percent of available products on the market," the report said.

Furthermore, the recent increase in the price of such staples as flour, rice and cooking oil has led to additional suffering, while access to basic social services (health care, education and potable water) remains extremely limited.

"The continued persistence of extreme poverty in rural areas is a major factor in the rapid growth of the urban population," the report added.

Currently, Haiti is ranked 146 of 177 states in the human development index released annually by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP). Haiti is also categorised as one of the 50 least developed countries, (LDCs), the poorest of the world’s poor.

The U.N. report also points out that the government of Haiti has continued its efforts to reach out to political groups and to strengthen state institutions.

"However, the political situation remains fragile given the continued political divisions and weak state institutions, as well as the absence of any significant improvement in the difficult living conditions of much of the population," it says.

Addressing the Security Council Tuesday, Annabi said while there had been some progress on institutional reform over the past six months, much more remains to be done to reach benchmarks. He said that while some 8,450 police officers were now in service, this fell far short of the 14,000 required for basic policing duties.

Annabi lauded three critical laws on the judiciary and the penal system that had been passed, but pointed out that "continued and coordinated efforts would be essential to turn these blueprints into reality."

He said the Haitian prison system was "unacceptable from security and human rights perspectives."

Annabi also told reporters that tensions between political actors and between the branches of government had occasionally threatened to escalate and to undermine public confidence.

This, he said, was dramatically illustrated by the recent shooting incident in Parliament, during a debate related to investigations into alleged spending irregularities.