[Caribbean News\Haiti]
CARICOM has expressed the Community’s concerns about Haiti during a meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General during the UN General Assembly two weeks ago. The Secretariat noted that the series of demonstrations throughout the country, calling for the President to step down, were increasing in size and intensity with outbreaks of looting, vandalism and violence which have led to casualties. On several occasions, the demonstrations have paralyzed the country for days. The crisis has led to a deteriorating social, economic and humanitarian situation.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Mass protests are engulfing Haiti as many Haitians are demanding that Haitian President Jovenel Moïse resign.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is deeply concerned over the protracted political crisis in Haiti and is awaiting the country’s imprimatur for a good offices Prime Ministerial delegation to visit.
Chairman of CARICOM, the Hon. Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, and the CARICOM Secretariat, both confirmed the decision for a team to visit Haiti. PM Chastanet told the Jamaica Gleaner last week that a technical team was being established for a fact-finding mission, but that plans to visit Haiti were placed on hold as the situation had worsened.
“I know that the situation is getting worse there. I know that we were due to first send a technical team to go there, but unfortunately, with the current crisis, that visit by the technical team has been postponed,” the Gleaner reported PM Chastanet as saying.
PM Chastanet also expressed the Community’s concerns about Haiti during a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General during the UN General Assembly two weeks ago.
The Secretariat noted that the series of demonstrations throughout the country, calling for the President to step down, were increasing in size and intensity with outbreaks of looting, vandalism and violence which have led to casualties. On several occasions the demonstrations have paralysed the country for days. The crisis has led to a deteriorating social, economic and humanitarian situation.
Despite the Community’s principled position of non-interference in the internal affairs of states, Member States or Third States, the Heads of Government received a report on the situation from the head of the Haitian delegation during their Conference in Saint Lucia in July of this year, the Secretariat said.
“They expressed their concern and underlined the importance of dialogue between the government and opposition in overcoming the crisis. A decision was taken by the Conference to have a good offices Prime Ministerial delegation visit the country. No doubt because of the increasing unsettled nature of the situation and of security concerns, Haiti has not yet given its imprimatur for the visit. Contact has, however, been maintained by the Secretariat with the country’s Foreign Minister and it continues to monitor the situation.
“It is therefore incorrect to say that the Community pays little attention to what is taking place in Haiti,” the Secretariat said.
The Secretariat said that as concerns the distribution of supplies, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) has pointed out the difficulties in this regard.
“In a very recent report on the humanitarian situation in Haiti, it observed that the provision of aid to the vulnerable and supply chains have been severely disrupted throughout the country by the demonstrations, barricades, the blocking of main roads and the occasional ensuing paralysis of government and private sector activities. The situation has been exacerbated by the unwillingness of truckers to transport goods because of the attendant security risks. This has led to widespread shortages of basic necessities in markets and supermarkets.”
