Caricom Heads of Government, including Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, and the International Partners of Haiti, which included Canada, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations held a coordination meeting on the situation in Haiti in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699. Haiti, a sister nation of Caricom. was a key focus of the recent 46th Caricom Heads of Government conference in Georgetown, Guyana.
A statement from the Caricom Secretariat said that the coordination meeting was updated on the situation in Haiti by former prime minister of St Lucia and Coordinator of the Eminent Persons Group Dr Kenny Anthony. In the course of a frank and in-depth discussion on the situation in Haiti, the Caricom Heads expressed their deep concern over the continued deterioration of Haiti’s security, its humanitarian and political situation and the continued delay in overcoming the political stalemate, which have blocked the possibility of free and fair elections. Caricom Heads, the statement read, underlined the critical and immediate need for a clear political path forward which should be participatory and inclusive.
The Caricom Heads took note of the commitment made by PM Henry to undertake major steps to move the political process forward, including the holding of general elections to restore constitutional government and authority no later than 31 August, 2025, the statement said. To this end, Caricom will dispatch an electoral needs gap assessment team by March 21, in consultation with the United Nations in line with existing Security Council mandates, with the support of Canada, USA and the OAS. The assessment team will support planning and efforts of the relevant Haitian institutions to be established, the statement said.
It noted that the Caricom Heads and partners recognised the depth of the suffering of the Haitian people which has been exacerbated by the lack of consensus among the political stakeholders, civil society, the private and religious sectors and the Government of Haiti. In this regard, the statement said, the Caricom Heads called on all concerned to make the necessary concessions to arrive at a resolution of the political impasse. They noted that stakeholders must recognize that they will not obtain all that they want, but Haiti must obtain what it needs.
Against this background, Caricom will extend an invitation to the stakeholders to participate in a meeting urgently to address and settle the critical political path that is participatory and inclusive, the statement said.
