Editorial | CARICOM’s stride on Haiti

A key outcome of last week’s summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders was their acknowledgement of their obligation to be in the forefront of efforts to help Haiti return to political stability and constitutional order.

“Heads affirmed that decisive action is needed at the earliest opportunity by CARICOM in view of the mounting insecurity and its widespread impact on all facets of Haitian life,” said a conference statement on the Haitian situation.

Notably, the leaders agreed to convene an “early meeting” with Haitian political stakeholders in Jamaica. The venue, this newspaper hopes, is a signal that Prime Minister Andrew Holness, as we had urged, is assuming leadership of CARICOM’s Haiti initiative, following his recent offer to contribute Jamaican police and soldiers to an international contingent to help restore internal security to its neighbour.

Jamaica is eminently qualified for this role. First, Jamaica is a close neighbour. But importantly, its relationship with Haiti hasn’t been characterised by the same tensions – some will claim superciliousness – that is often apparent in interactions between some other northern Caribbean countries to their poorer regional partner, whose citizens sometimes end up on their shores on their way to seeking better lives abroad.

More significantly, Jamaica has in the past been an interlocutor between Haitian political factions in efforts to restore political stability and constitutional order to the country.

Put another way, Jamaica possesses the institutional memory and, we believe, the trust of all sides to be an honest broker.

HISTORY WITH HAITI

In the mid-1980s, for example, the Edward Seaga administration helped negotiate the departure into exile of the former dictator, Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier.

Between 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, PJ Patterson’s government led a CARICOM initiative seeking to maintain constitutional order in Haiti, before a triumvirate of developed countries caused the collapse of the effort by forcing the elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, out of the country in the face of gang-fuelled insurgency, similar to what exists today. Ostensibly, President Aristide resigned and asked the Americans to fly him into exile.

There is a clear nexus between the undermining of that Jamaican initiative by the United States, France and Canada and Haiti’s current crisis. In the nearly two decades since the sinking of the Patterson Plan, Haiti has been unable to sustain neither political stability nor constitutional order. The situation worsened with the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

In 2004, many people warned the triumvirate of the likely long-term effect of their action. Which is today’s Haiti. That is why we are encouraged that the current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, doesn’t seem inclined to follow the playbook of his 2004 predecessor, Paul Martin.

Mr Trudeau’s government has sent Canadian navy ships to Haiti to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence. It has also supplied the Haitian police with weapons and equipment to fight gangs, as well as provide humanitarian aid.

But he appears to sense a trust deficit for countries like his own among ordinary Haitians, given the long history of failed promises from big-power interventions, such as after the 2010 earthquake.

KITH HELPING KIN

So, Mr Trudeau told last week’s summit: “CARICOM must be an integral leader on this crisis, including through convening political dialogues and helping rally partners, around the globe, to provide much-needed assistance for Haiti.”

We agree.

But while CARICOM can help Haiti fashion the institutional arrangements that are necessary for the holding of “free, fair and credible elections”, that can’t happen in the absence of an environment in which Haitians feel free to exercise their franchise. An absence of violence and intimidation is necessary. The gangs have to be brought to book.

CARICOM itself doesn’t have the resources to do this on its own. Indeed, for all elements of the Haiti project it has to rally international support. That, however, mustn’t devolve into a global security project, in the charge of a UN Security Council, with the characteristics of such enterprises.

CARICOM must see its leadership of the Haitian project as a partnership between kith and kin, with similar aspirations, even if one has slightly more, and deeper, problems.

In the past, CARICOM hasn’t sustained its Haiti initiatives. It shouldn’t be that way this time. Not if it is really kith helping kin.