Saint John, May 15 The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, held a bilateral meeting on Monday with the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, in the Caribbean country and urged the international community to resolve the “tragic” situation in Haiti.
At a press conference in Jamaica, Guterres appealed to the international community to help the French-speaking country of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to overcome its current political and socioeconomic conditions.
Haiti is going through an unprecedented crisis since the assassination on July 7, 2021 of then-President Jovenel Moïse who was riddled with shots by a commando with weapons and military equipment who broke into his residence on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, and who also seriously injured gravity to his wife, Marine Moïse.
The United Nations Secretary General stressed that Haiti faces “dramatic” humanitarian needs, a paralyzed political system and very high levels of violence.
“The number of people killed, the number of people unable to live their lives, the dramatic problems of food insecurity are in fact something that needs a greater commitment from the international community,” Guterres said.
Likewise, he emphasized that it is “necessary to find a political path that allows for the recognition of a legitimate government and to confront the violence of the gangs.”
In this sense, he explained that he made a proposal to the UN Security Council to support Haiti with “the presence of a robust international police force to put an end to the gangs and, in parallel with the political process.”
Guterres highlighted the work of Jamaica for being one of the first countries that “immediately expressed its willingness to be part of this operation.”
In the same way, he highlighted the work of Caricom, which urged in February to strengthen the Haitian Police and assumed at the end of its annual summit in the Bahamas that they must “play a leadership role” to resolve the crisis the country is suffering.
“I want to express my full support for the initiatives of Jamaica and Caricom and I want to ask once again the international community to understand that effective solidarity with Haiti is not just a matter of generosity, it is a matter of interest because it reflects a threat to the security of the entire region and beyond,” Guterres added.
For his part, Holness was convinced that requests for aid to Haiti do not fall on deaf ears.
“The issue is the pace of action and countries that want to help will also want to be sure that there is a political process underway that can produce a final result,” said the Jamaican prime minister.
On the other hand, Guterres and Holness discussed the climate and economic crisis that is impacting the region and highlighted the upcoming mid-term review of the global framework for disaster risk reduction.
In his opinion, if development banks “are able to use their resources to leverage the massive excess of private financing at reasonable costs for developing countries, much more can be done.”
Guterres also stressed Jamaica’s leadership in efforts to reform the global financial architecture so that developing countries, including middle-income countries, can sustainably restructure and manage debt.
In addition, they are able to access technology and financing at affordable rates to invest in inclusive and sustainable growth and development.
Caricom members are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. EFE
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