Haiti a major agenda item for CARICOM

PORT OF SPAIN (CMC):

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres Monday night described as a “tragedy within a tragedy” the fact that the humanitarian appeal for Haiti is only 23 per cent funded as he urged the international community, including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to “help ease the suffering of the Haitian people”.

Addressing the opening of the 45th meeting of CARICOM leaders here, Guterres said the security situation is appalling, humanitarian needs are soaring, and there is not yet the political solution in sight.

“But I came with hope and optimism. 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 added.

He said while he wanted to recognise the critical efforts of CARICOM leaders to extend their good offices as well as Jamaica organising a high level meeting on Haiti last month.

“I will continue to push for a robust international security force, authorised by the Security Council, to be able to help the Haitian National Police to defeat and dismantle the gangs, and I reiterate my call to all partners to increase support for the national police in the form of financing, training, and equipment.

“Let’s be clear: There can be no lasting security without strengthened democratic institutions, and there can be no strong democratic institutions without a drastic improvement in the security situation,” he told the regional leaders and host of regional and international guests.

Guterres said that the challenges in Haiti require greater engagement and greater solidarity, adding “that is precisely the founding spirit of CARICOM”.

Haiti has been plunged into deep political and socio-economic problems highlighted by the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise at his private residence overlooking the capital.

Criminal gangs as well as opposition politicians have been calling for the Henry administration that came to office following Moise’s murder.

Outgoing CARICOM chairman and Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Davis told the opening ceremony that Haiti remains high on the agenda for all regional discussions.

“The Bahamas remains committed to acting as a lead, with other CARICOM member states, to find a solution to the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis,” he said, adding that the CARICOM-led meeting of Haitian stakeholders in Kingston in June, was cause for cautious optimism.

“Stakeholders welcomed the inclusive nature of the meeting, which was a microcosm of Haitian society. As a demonstration of the effectiveness of regional co-operation, the Eminent Persons Group convened by CARICOM, was urged to continue to use CARICOM’s Good Offices to work with all stakeholders to find a definitive solution to the crisis.”

Davis said along with the moral imperative to support its Haitian neighbours in finding a way out of the political morass which is causing so much suffering, “it is a prime illustration of the point which I have made for some time now, that none of us can be safe until we are all safe.

“In Haiti, beyond the pressing issue of security, there is the long-term issue of restoring the country to that of a fully-functioning, democratic state,” Davis said, noting that “this fundamental principle, that the people of the CARICOM region should have both a ‘say’ and a role in their governance, is part of the bedrock of our community.

“This is why CARICOM is already playing a significant role in protecting the internal democracy in the associated states. And so, we joined the meeting of Bermuda, Cayman, The British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Anguilla, and reaffirmed their right to self-determination and self-governance.

“As a matter of principle, we strongly support the proposition that this dialogue should become a standing item of the CARICOM agenda, to take place before each meeting of the Heads of Government,” Davis told the opening ceremony.

The CARICOM summit coincides with the 50th anniversary of the regional integration movement and the UN Secretary General said the “anniversary is a time for critical reflection on the enormous challenges confronting the Caribbean.

“COVID-19 destroyed lives and livelihoods, independently of a more extraordinary response.

Tourism and export receipts temporarily collapsed. Prices for fuel and food skyrocketed.

Debt burdens grew heavier, liquidity dried up, and access to global capital markets worsened dramatically.

“All the while, the climate emergency continues to escalate – threatening the very existence of small island and low-lying coastal states,” he said, adding “we need action on two fronts”.

He said the current crisis has revealed an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair.

“As part of our preparation for the Summit of the Future, I put forward a detailed blueprint for a redesigned global financial architecture, including the Bretton Woods system. But change will not happen overnight”.

He said Caribbean leaders have been pointing the way forward, including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley through the Bridgetown Initiative and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness through the Finance for Development initiative.

“I have proposed a set of actions world leaders can take now. They include an SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) stimulus for investments in sustainable development, climate action, and more.

“An enhanced and effective debt relief mechanism. New financial tools, such as swaps that convert debts into investments in climate adaptation. ”

Guterres said he is also calling for an increase in the capital base of multilateral development banks and a change in their business model with a new approach to risk to be able to leverage more private finance at a reasonable cost in support of developing countries.

He also wants a re-channelling of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and a shift in subsidies – away from fossil fuels and unsustainable agriculture and food systems into sustainable development.

“… redressing a core injustice facing middle-income countries: the continued lack of access to concessional financing because of allocation metrics that ignore vulnerabilities to shocks such as financial crises or climate-related disasters,” Guterres said, adding that he supports the region’s call for a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index.

He said the second area for action has to deal with the climate crisis, saying limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible.

“But it will require carbon emissions to be cut by 45 per cent by 2030. That is why I have proposed a Climate Solidarity Pact – in which all big emitters make extra efforts to cut emissions; and wealthier countries support emerging economies to do so.

“And that is why I have put forward an acceleration agenda to boost these efforts. I urge governments to hit fast forward on their net-zero deadlines so that developed countries commit to reaching net-zero as close as possible to 2040 and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050, and Caribbean countries have been showing the way. ’

He said developed countries must also finally make good on their financial commitments to developing countries, including by meeting the US$100 billion goal, doubling adaptation finance, replenishing the Green Climate Fund, and operationalising the loss and damage fund this year.