US, CARICOM throw support behind Haiti as country on ‘brink of disaster’

Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr. Irfaan Ali and his regional colleagues gathered in Jamaica on Monday for talks to resolve the ongoing Haitian crisis.

And in between robust discussions among CARICOM leaders, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other international partners, additional aid was announced for the country.

Blinken said the US would commit another US$100 million for a United Nations (UN)- backed multinational security force that is to be led by Kenya. This security force is meant to go into Haiti and support the Haitian National Police Force.

Another US$33 million, Blinken said, would be for humanitarian aid.
With these new commitments, the total US pledges for Haiti has gone to US$333 million.

Meanwhile, President Ali said the leaders are all serious about restoring order in Haiti, advancing the political process and delivering much-needed humanitarian aid to the citizens.

“I think we can all agree that Haiti is on the brink of disaster and we must take quick and decisive action to bring the situation under control,” President Ali told a press conference in Kingston, on Monday.

According to him, regional leaders have been unrelenting in their discussions because there is a huge need to support the sister CARICOM state and its citizens.

But he said the discussions are not meant to derive decisions that will be imposed on Haitians. Instead, he said the 15-member bloc and its international partners want to present “options and ideas” to the Haitian people so they can “refine and own” their solutions.

Similarly, host Prime Minister, Jamaica’s Andrew Holness said the crisis must be resolved quickly. He was particularly supportive of the UN-backed security force.

The challenges of the already fragile country boiled over in 2021, when its President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. Gang violence has engulfed the country and the United Nations (UN) estimates that conflict in the country killed about 5,000 people last year.

In recent weeks, the situation worsened as gang attacks have shuttered the country’s main international airport and freed more than 4,000 inmates.