GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders met on Friday to discuss the ongoing political and socio-economic conditions in Haiti as they seek to determine further action in support of a Haitian-led solution to the crisis.
President Irfaan Ali chaired the CARICOM leaders meeting on Haiti (File Photo)A statement issued here said that the meeting the seventh meeting of the CARICOM lead heads of government on Haiti was chaired by the newly named CARICOM chairman and Guyana’s President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
The statement said that the regional leaders received a briefing from the CARICOM Eminent Persons Group (EPG) led by former St. Lucia prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and including former Jamaica prime minister Bruce Golding and his Bahamas counterpart, Perry Christie.
The statement said the regional leaders “acknowledged the important efforts being made to facilitate a political consensus among stakeholders in Haiti”.
The EPG had ended a visit to Port au Prince last month, indicating that consensus had been reached on several aspects of the draft framework agreement intended to provide a transitional governance arrangement to take the troubled CARICOM country to free and fair elections.
In its statement issued following their latest visit, the EPG said the negotiations, attended by representatives of a broad cross section of political and civil society Stakeholders, including Prime Minister Ariel Henry, “provided an opportunity for narrowing of differences on the details of the transitional governance arrangement.
“The draft framework agreement that formed the basis of the negotiations was prepared by the EPG and reflected the contributions of all the Stakeholders over more than five months of consultations.
“The stakeholders achieved consensus on several aspects of the draft framework and have agreed to continue discussions between themselves in the absence of the EPG on the key areas of the balance of power and representation within the proposed transitional arrangements,” thy added.
In its statement on Friday, the regional leaders said they also took account of the status of preparations for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to be led by Kenya and “ acknowledged the role of Jamaica in coordinating the efforts of the Community in this regard, as well as the critical contributions of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
“Heads remained gravely concerned over the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Haiti as the political and security crises persist with the horrendous impacts of this situation on the most vulnerable in Haiti. They noted that increasing violence had resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes.”
The regional leaders called on all stakeholders in Haiti to “exert every effort to urgently arrive at a political resolution and the implementation of a transitional roadmap towards stability, the facilitation of humanitarian support, the holding of credible elections, the restoration of political and institutional legitimacy, and long-term development for the Haitian people.
“The Community remains committed to working with the people and all stakeholders in Haiti towards durable peace and sustainable development,” the statement said, adding that “CARICOM looks forward to strengthened collaboration and coordination of efforts with the friends of Haiti and the wider international community in support of Haiti”.
