Top US official travels to Haiti

WASHINGTON (CMC):

The United States Department of State says Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations Anne Witkowsky will travel to Haiti for talks with top officials and “a diverse array of Haitian stakeholders”.

On Friday, the State Department said that Witkowsky will visit the French-speaking Caribbean country from March 7-9 to meet with Prime Minister Ariel Henry and members of the Montana Group “in support of an inclusive, Haitian-led political dialogue”.

The assistant secretary will also meet “a diverse array of Haitian stakeholders” – including civil society and women leaders – “to reinforce the US Government’s commitment to the Haitian people by promoting long-term stability and development, and to discuss US support for Haitian solutions to issues facing the country”.

“The assistant secretary will also highlight the United States’ ongoing support for security-sector capacity building with Haitian officials and civil society representatives, and reaffirm our commitment to a Haitian-led restoration of democratic institutions,” the statement said.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

In addition, it said Witkowsky will mark International Women’s Day with United Nations staff and Haitian women leaders “to recognise the vital role of women in conflict resolution and in the economy, and reinforce the US government’s commitment to strengthening gender equality and meaningfully engaging women as equal partners in economic, political and security decisions”.

Last month, United Nations Special Representative in Haiti Helen La Lime said that, despite some signs of progress in ending the political, economic and humanitarian crisis that has worsened across Haiti since the assassination of its president last year, the situation there remains “fraught and highly polarised”.

La Lime, who also heads the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, told the UN Security Council that there is need for structural reforms to tackle gang violence, address impunity and corruption, strengthen the justice system and sustainably transform the Haitian economy.

“The contours of a common vision shared by all, will ultimately depend on Haitian stakeholders placing the national interest above their own aspirations,” she said. “Success will be determined by their collective willingness to compromise.”

The special envoy said the relative calm observed on February 7 – the date on which late President Jovenel Moïse’s term would have officially ended – was a good sign, telling ambassadors that the new government, unveiled on November 24, appears to have appeased tensions.