Port of Spain/New York, July 3 – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) celebrated its 50th anniversary of regional integration with a call from the United Nations to help Haiti, which has descended into lawlessness and the population demand urgent humanitarian assistance.
“I am coming here from Haiti,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the organization headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM comprises 20 countries in the region.
“The security situation is appalling, humanitarian needs are soaring, and there is no political solution in sight. It is impossible to look at the crisis without seeing the long shadow of centuries of colonial exploitation, extortion, dictatorship and other screaming injustices,” he said. “We must help ease the suffering of the Haitian people.”
Before his meeting with CARICOM in Port of Spain, Guterres visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and met with Haitian leaders on July 2. U.N. News said he expressed solidarity with the Haitian people and deep concern at the extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian people – especially women and girls – because of brutally violent and “predatory” armed gangs, like those encircling the capital, blocking main roads and controlling access to water, food, health care.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual violence which the armed gangs have used as a weapon to instill fear,” he said, calling on the entire international community to urgently “put the victims and the civilian population at the center of our concerns and priorities.”
To the Caribbean governments, Guterres said, “The challenges we see in Haiti require greater engagement and solidarity. This is precisely the founding spirit of CARICOM.”
“You have advanced cooperation on every front – from economic and social development … to fighting illegal drugs and arms trafficking… to combatting non-communicable diseases … to advancing gender parity. And, of course, you have championed climate action and focused attention on the plight of Small Island Developing States.
“The United Nations relies on Caribbean expertise and leadership.”
Guterres said he will continue to urge the U.N. Security Council to authorize the immediate deployment of an international force to assist Haiti’s police force in its fight against gangs that have been terrorizing the population.
He said the Haitian people are exhausted as they tried to grapple with “a cascade of crises and unacceptable living conditions” and pointed out that one in two Haitians lives in extreme poverty and does not have access to drinking water.
The U.N. humanitarian response plan in Haiti, which called for $720 million to assist 3 million Haitians, is only 23 per cent funded, he said.
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