Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/PORT-AU-PRINCE: The Bahamas prime minister said that Caribbean leaders would appeal for international assistance to fight gangs in Haiti when they meet at the annual meeting in the Bahamas later this week.
According to Reuters, Haiti would be a “prominent priority” on the agenda for the February 15-17 meeting scheduled to be held in Nassau.
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said that the goal of the conference was the “Haitian-led solution”.
The 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise created a power vacuum, emboldened armed gangs, and exacerbated overlapping humanitarian crises.
Haiti is one of CARICOM’s 15 members, which includes Montserrat, an overseas territory of Great Britain.
“We don’t have the resources to deal with the Haiti issue ourselves, and we do need outside help,” Davis said, urging the United States and Canada “to come to the fore to help.”
Leaders from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional bloc would also meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a US delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols.
Trudeau earlier said in Mexico City that Canada was “working with partners across the Caribbean and, indeed, with Mexico and the United States to ensure that if the situation starts to deteriorate, we would have options.”
Haiti’s government and top United Nations officials have called for the global force to support Haitian police in their struggle against gangs, which have become a de facto authority in parts of the country.
Regional Leaders
The regional leaders still have been cautious about what kind of global response to pursue given the Haiti’s troubled history of foreign intervention.
Davis said, “What we seek to have done is to stabilize the country sufficiently enough to allow for free and fair elections.”
The agenda for the CARICOM’s 44th heads of government meeting would feature discussions on migration, climate change, food security, arms and drug trafficking, and healthcare.
