MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – Haiti has called on the rest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) not to turn their backs on the country saying that it was important for there to be a united front in confronting the security, political and socio-economic situation there.
Laurent Saint Cyr speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the end of the CARICOM summit (CMC Photo)Speaking at the news conference following the three-day CARICOM summit here, the incoming President of the Transitional Presidential Council, (TPC), Laurent Saint Cyr, said that he was pleased to have participated in the deliberations where the regional leaders had placed “the security crisis in Haiti at the forefront of regional priority.
“Haiti today needs the region to speak with one voice in defense of security, peace and sustainable development,” he said, thanking the countries that have already contributed to the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, an international security force authorized by the United Nations Security Council to assist the Haitian National Police in restoring order and combating gang violence.
The mission’s mandate was recently extended until October 2, 2025.
But Saint Cyr said there was need to “redouble our efforts” and that “each sister nation can contribute to the restoration of peace and security in Haiti through training, logistical support, financial assistance and technical support.
“We are also counting on you to intensify advocacy with other regional and global partners for increased support…in controlling the illegal inflow of arms and ammunition and in combatting drug trafficking”.
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations said that the lack of funding is “significantly impacting” efforts to meet the growing needs of Haitians in the country where more than 1.3 million people are already internally displaced.
“…unfortunately, the Haitian humanitarian appeal remains the least funded of all of our humanitarian appeals, which are almost all underfunded. Out of the US$908 million we need, we have less than US$75 million in the bank,” said UN spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, after making a similar statement on Monday.
He said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is reporting that armed attacks in the Centre department last week displaced more than 16,000 human beings.
“Most have found refuge with host families, while two per cent of them have settled in seven informal displacement sites that were created in the wake of these incidents,” he said, adding that these developments reflect the continued deterioration of the security situation in Haiti, where criminal gangs are seeking to overthrow the provisional government in Port au Prince following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, four years ago.
Saint Cyr told reporters that “Haiti remains a land of opportunity” and that he was inviting foreign investments in key sectors such as infrastructure, the green economy, innovation, education and training as well as cultural tourism and security.
“I reaffirm my commitment to working alongside my colleagues in the TPC for the successful transition. Haiti is ready to fully assume its responsibility ,but we will not succeed alone. Haiti relies on its friends and international partners, especially within CARICOM for the restoration of security, the organization of elections and long term support for national reconstruction”.
Saint Cyr said that it is only through a united front and solidarity actions “that we will be able to face this crisis and deliver …on Haiti’s transition.
“Helping Haiti rise is to respond to a regional imperative of security, stability and solidarity. This is what it means to build a safe and sustainable future…and what has brought us together over these last three days,” he said.
Earlier, Jamaica’s Prime Minister and CARICOM chairman, Andrew Holness, told reporters that CARICOM has been “very vocal” in its call for international support for Haiti”.
