President Irfaan Ali issues follow up public statement on behalf of CARICOM

President of Guyana and Chairman of the Caribbean Community released a 3-minute statement as a follow-up to a preliminary statement released earlier this week; informing the public that no consensus has yet been made in relation to the crisis in Haiti.

The Caribbean Community has been focused on the situation unravelling in Haiti, where upwards of 4000 inmates have been broken out of jail, the capital of Port-Au-Prince has mostly been seized by a coalition of gangs, and a three-day state of emergency was implemented for public safety.

The acting president, Ariel Henry, has been forcibly kept out of the country through these attacks; President Henry is currently reported to be in Puerto Rico, after being threatened by gang coalitions in Haiti.

President Henry initially left Haiti for Kenya in an attempt to sign a deal for the deployment of multinational police forces in Haiti to contain the worsening gang situation. He is yet to give a public statement about these developments.

Since Monday, Haiti has deployed soldiers from the Armed Forces of Haiti in support of the Haitian National Police to take back control of the Capital, starting with the International Toussaint Louverture airport, which has remained a pivotal point of interest during this conflict.

On the 5^th of March, CARICOM Chairman Irfaan Ali issued a preliminary statement lasting close to 80 seconds informing the public that the region has been a key point of discussion for the body. This statement was followed up with a more detailed exposition on the 7^th of March, the statement lasting 3 minutes; he emphasizes CARICOMs dedication to the solution has been tireless, yet no consensus has yet been met. He goes on to say that “this matter goes to the UN Security Council today in closed session”.

The Security Council Report shared this statement “The Security Council will convene for a private meeting on Haiti. Ecuador and the US, the penholders in Haiti, requested the meeting to discuss the most recent escalation of gang violence in the country. An official from the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is expected to brief. Haiti and Kenya are expected to participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.”

United bodies across the world have issued statements on the imperative need for action in the region. Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General issued a minute-long statement emphasizing the need for financing in regard to the Multinational Security Support Mission.