HAITI TO TAKE PRIORITY ON THE AGENDA OF CARICOM’S NEXT MEETING
Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Dominica, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit says the humanitarian crisis in Haiti will take priority on the agenda of CARICOM’s upcoming virtual meeting.
The Heads of Government of the Member States of CARICOM will convene for a virtual meeting next week.
“We will meet virtually as CARICOM heads. The main item on the agenda will be Haiti and the situation in Haiti. As you know the Security Council had mandated the Secretary General of the United Nations to make certain proposals to the Security Council on what actions need to be taken and what support Haiti needs to restore the security in Haiti and to ensure that the Haitian people can go about their daily lives like any one of us in the region,” PM Skerrit stated.
Former Prime Ministers Dr. Kenny Anthony, Hon. Bruce Golding, Hon. Perrie Christie from Saint Lucia, Jamaica and Bahamas respectively have led the efforts to restore peace and stability in Haiti.
“As you know CARICOM for some months now appointed an eminent group of people led by the Former Prime Minister Of Saint Lucia, Dr. Kenny Anthony and included the Former Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding, and the Former Prime Minister coming from the Bahamas, Hon. Perrie Christie. So these three people form that group and they have been engaging a wide cross section of the Haitian population representing the groups. They’ve also been having discussion with the UN and other stakeholders in the United States and Canada,” the CARICOM Chair explained.
CARICOM has accepted their role in coordinating global efforts to support Haiti.
“And so we are looking to further coordinate the efforts because we of the view and we accept that- that view and the mandate that CARICOM is gonna have to play a very crucial role in coordinating global efforts towards providing Haiti with the support that it needs. And so we will be meeting to take stock of what has transpired thus far and to receive a report from the group- Kenny Anthony to further determine what other actions CARICOM would need to take to provide support to Haiti,” he noted.
Caribbean islands have committed resources toward a resolution of the crisis in Haiti. Dominica is prepared to provide translators and police officers to the cause.
“Kenny has indicated its commitment to providing troops, police officers, and there are a couple other African countries who have indicated so as well. There are some countries within CARICOM who have indicated they will provide police personnel. We in Dominica are prepared to provide as we discussed with other international stakeholders provide some support especially with regards to translators. As we did before when the earthquakes and hurricanes affected Haiti, there were several police officers who were sent and some were sent with the – and others were sent for the translation purposes so we prepared to provide that support. So is really to get an update where we are, to look at the moving parts and to determine what additional support we would need to provide to the Haitian people,” PM Skerrit explained.
Prime Minister Skerrit declared his stance on the crisis in Haiti as Chairman of CARICOM.
“For me as Chairman for the Conference of Heads, I have indicated very sincerely that the Haitian situation is my number one priority. We owe it to the Haitian people and it is important that the entire Caribbean community, not only the Heads of Government but the entire Caribbean community is engaged and be seized of the issues confronting Haiti and for us to collectively provide that moral collective commitment and support to Haiti,” he added.
Ultimately, the United Nations- Security Council will decide the course of actions and the necessary legal cover that will be provided for Haiti.