As global leaders last week and earlier this week voiced deep concern about myriad issues facing the planet, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders used the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Debate not only to express their grievances and appeal for international aid for their besieged economies but also to continue rallying around Haiti in its dire time of need.
Dominica reiterated its stance in solidarity with the people of Haiti, insisting, like its CARICOM counterparts, that the situation in the French-speaking Caribbean country ‘in no way nullifies the entitlement of its people to the recognition of their sacred sovereignty and their right to be central in the search for a fair and durable peace.’
‘The Government of Dominica remains convinced that our sister CARICOM State, Haiti, faces major challenges today in part because of the glorious contribution Haiti made to the quest for justice and freedom in our region and the world,’ said President Sylvanie Burton.
‘Indeed, the current complexion of this august body would have been unimaginable without the heroic struggles of the Haitians,’ she said. ‘As such, the crisis in Haiti is much more than a Caribbean crisis, and its solution requires a united response and the support of the United Nations to resolve.’
Burton said Dominica ‘unreservedly supports the position of CARICOM on the situation in Haiti, a position that rightly calls for a Haitian-led and owned transition process, to bring across systematic changes for the benefit of the Haitian people.
‘Let us provide them with all of the support that they need,’ she urged. ‘Nothing less is demanded of us.’
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew said the region remains incomplete while Haiti suffers.
‘Haiti’s struggle is our shame if we do not respond with resolve,’ he said. ‘The people of Haiti carry within them an extraordinary history of emancipation and courage. Yet, that history has been marred by instability, natural disasters, and foreign interventions that have too often deepened dependency and deprivation rather than delivered dignity.’
The prime minister said St. Kitts and Nevis and CARICOM welcome the commitments of partner states – notably the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission and the backing of the OAS and other regional actors – to help restore security and to assist in rebuilding Haitian institutions.
But he said security is only the first step.
‘We must invest in Haiti’s health, education, agriculture, infrastructure and governance,’ Dr. Drew urged. ‘We must help rebuild markets so that merchants trade rather than flee, we must help rebuild schools so that children learn rather than languish, we must help rebuild hospitals so that mothers are treated rather than traumatised.
‘Haiti must be allowed to write and lead its own restoration story – and the international community must be a steadfast partner, not a scriptwriter,’ he added.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that the situation in Haiti demands sustained attention, not cycles of improvisation.
‘Funding has arrived in fits and starts while suffering has grown. We support a single, Haitian-led plan, executed under a single Security Council mandate and financed through a single, transparent Haiti Fund, aligning the United Nations, the Organisation of American States and the Caribbean Community behind one budgeted program with public accountability,’ Browne said.
He said that disbursements should follow results, such as roads retaken from gang control, extortion stopped, arms and illicit finance interdicted, civilians protected, and essential services restored.
‘Haiti needs one mandate, one Haitian-led plan, one fund – accountable and transparent,’ the Antiguan leader said. ‘We urge every member of the Security Council to support the proposed resolution on increased security assistance for Haiti that is now before it.
‘Action is long overdue; the Council must act to help Haiti and its long-suffering people,’ Browne added.
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis lamented that ‘too often the suffering of its (Haitian) people has been met with indifference.
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis.’The Multinational Security Support Mission, under Kenyan leadership, has been an
important bridge,’ Davis said. ‘But bridges must be a pathway to the solution. That mission must evolve into a force strong enough to meet the still-present threat of violence and lawlessness.’
But Davis said Haiti needs more than security, pointing out that the French-speaking Caribbean country also needs investment, partnership and hope.’
However, he said the lack of security in Haiti disproportionately adversely impacts the security of the Bahamas.
‘And we can no longer continue to carry so much of the burden and plight of the Haitian people,’ he said. ‘The world must act. We say this not out of fatigue, but out of the conscious realisation that a crisis of this magnitude cannot be left to neighbours alone. It requires a global response.’
Therefore, Davis said the Bahamas calls for ‘a dedicated United Nations Support Office for Haiti: an institution to coordinate aid, sustain international attention, strengthen institutions, and nurture democracy.
‘We cannot claim fidelity to peace, and at the same time, ignore Haiti,’ he said.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said armed gangs, political collapse, and food insecurity have converged to overwhelm democracy and create a protracted emergency in Haiti.
‘We commend Kenya for leading the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission,’ she said, endorsing a statement by a senior US official that the next international force in Haiti must be resourced to hold territory, secure infrastructure, and complement the Haitian National Police.
‘As member states consider the form of greater support, we urge the international community to support the US and Panama’s proposed Gang suppression force to allow the deployment of a 5,500-member force to subdue the gangs and restore order in Haiti,’ Persad Bissessar added.
She said the theme of the UN General Assembly, ‘Better Together – From Principle to Practice’, is not just a slogan but a call to action.
‘It signifies the collective effort required to combat transnational crime, uphold democracy, and restore peace and security in our nations,’ the Trinidad and Tobago leader said.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves said that matters political, economic and social continue to deteriorate in Haiti, with gang violence continuing unabated, and a ‘veritable Hobbesian state of nature exists in which life is nasty, brutish and short.
‘Haiti’s political and economic elites have been found wanting; but it is true, too, that the international community with the means to assist has not as yet summoned up the will to do so disinterestedly, though in accord with the Haitian people’s deepest longings for peace, security and a normal civilised life and living,’ he said.
‘The UN Security Council, with CARICOM’s full support, is seized of this matter but an insufficiency of resources and will have attended it,’ Gonsalves added.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that Haiti, ‘which was once a beacon of emancipation and revolution, is today a victim of centuries of external interference and contemporary internal conflict.’
She thanked Kenya for the leadership role it is playing in the MSS mission, while looking forward to the enhanced support of the UN Security Council and the Organisation of the American States.
‘Haiti requires a long-term support plan addressing security and development needs,’ Mottley said. ‘With the requisite political will, the UN Security Council and the international development system are well-equipped to deliver.’
Guyana President Dr. Irfaan Ali urged the international community to act decisively in Haiti, ‘where gang violence, displacement, and shortages of food and medicine have pushed the nation into deepening despair.
‘Restoring security is the foremost priority, requiring strict enforcement of the arms embargo and robust support for a UN-authorised mission,’ said Dr. Ali, emphasising that without urgent humanitarian funding and a Haitian-led and owned political process, stability will remain elusive.
‘We must address the root causes of Haiti’s continuing troubles, including its historical debt burdens, which stymies its development prospects and upliftment of its peoples,’ he added, recalling French President Emmanuel Macron’s acknowledgement that making Haiti pay for its independence was unjust.
‘This is a welcome step,’ the Guyanese president continued.
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness, currently leading CARICOM, urged UN Member States, especially those on the UN Security Council, to operationalise the UN Secretary-General’s recommendations for a transition to a ‘more robust hybrid mechanism’ to address the crises in Haiti.
He also called on member states to provide the financial and logistical support to ensure the success of this initiative.
In addition, Holness said governance deficits and a fragile institutional framework in Haiti must be addressed.
‘Once stability is restored, the international community must help rebuild democratic institutions, ensure free and fair elections, expand humanitarian relief and invest in infrastructure to support long-term stability,’ the Jamaican leader said. ‘Haiti’s recovery requires sustained global support.’
Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons expressed heightened concern regarding the situation for people in Haiti, whom the Security Council recently heard are enduring a ‘perfect storm of suffering.’
She said Suriname strongly believes conflicts should primarily be resolved through dialogue.
St. Lucia Foreign Affairs Minister Alva Baptiste said that Haiti faces an ‘unprecedented humanitarian crisis marked by political instability, widespread poverty, environmental degradation, and a fragile healthcare system – all compounded by intractable gang violence.
‘Hence, the urgent need for international support is critical to prevent further deterioration of living conditions, protect vulnerable populations, and restore law and order as well as basic services like education and healthcare,’ he said.
‘Without immediate action, Haiti risks spiralling into deeper chaos, increased violence, and prolonged suffering that will destabilise the region and undermine global efforts for stability and development,’ Baptiste warned.
He said this is why St. Lucia is ‘extremely concerned’ that the Kenya-led MSS mission is ‘woefully short of the personnel and equipment it needs to effectively pursue its mandate.’
The St. Lucia Foreign Affairs Minister noted that, of the US$900 million the UN anticipated raising for Haiti, only 9.2 per cent has been received, quoting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as describing the situation ‘as shamefully overlooked and woefully underfunded.’
In addressing the UN General Assembly Debate, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council President Anthony Franck Laurent Saint Cyr pleaded with the international community to stand alongside Haiti in restoring peace.
‘Today, the international community must stand alongside Haiti and take large-scale measures, not half steps,’ he said.
‘Every day that we hesitate’, with endless discussions, stalled negotiations, and geopolitical deadlock, ‘criminals benefit’, Saint Cyr warned.
‘Just a four-hour plane ride from here, a human tragedy is unfolding – one of the most devastating of our hemisphere,’ he stressed.
He said that ‘every day, innocent lives are extinguished by bullets, fire, fear,’ with entire neighbourhoods disappearing and more than a million people ‘forced into internal exile’.
The Transitional Presidential Council President said that nearly half of Haiti’s population faces acute food insecurity and that the healthcare system is collapsing.
He said that hospitals are being attacked, doctors are fleeing, and lives are being lost due to a lack of care.
But amid the crises, Saint Cyr said, ‘Haiti wants peace,’ appealing for strong coordinated and immediate action in his country’s war against ‘criminals that want to impose violence as a social order’.
Kenya President William Ruto reiterated his country’s support for Haiti, lauding as a success the MSS mission deployed in Haiti that Kenya heads.
Ruto told the United Nations General Assembly Debate that the MSS mission – which was authorised by the UN Security Council in October 2023 to help improve security and policing – is both ‘a success and a cautionary tale about global security governance.’
He said Kenya ‘stepped forward, stepped up, and deployed our officers’ to confront rampant gang violence in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.
But he lamented that the mission remains ‘underfunded, underequipped and operates below 40 per cent of its authorised personnel strength.’
Despite the constraints, Ruto said, ‘the MSS has delivered results many thought were impossible.’
He said government institutions once overrun by gangs were restored, schools reopened, kidnappings have declined, and Haiti’s airport and seaport have resumed normal operations.
‘This begs the question: If so much could be achieved with limited resources and stretched personnel within months, what more could have been accomplished if the United Nations fraternity had truly acted together in solidarity with the people of Haiti?’ Ruto asked.
He urged the UN Security Council to ensure the ‘hard-won gains’ achieved so far by the Kenyan-led mission are consolidated as the UN body deliberates on the next steps.
As Haiti remains in the grip of a deepening multidimensional crisis affecting the political, security, human rights and humanitarian spheres, with implications for the region, Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste also warned that the security crisis ‘is like the Sword of Damocles above us.’
In a meeting convened under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), whose Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti is chaired by Ambassador Bob Rae of Canada, Jean-Baptiste recalled those words that he’d issued during a CARICOM Foreign Ministers meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
Jean-Baptiste outlined priorities for Haiti, including the need ‘to re-establish social peace so that the people can vote in safety’ and to support the government in implementing development, economic and social programs to resolve gang violence.
‘Despite these security challenges, there has been progress,’ he said. ‘We have shown that we can use your aid effectively. Now, we need more support in order to conclude this effort.’
The UN said armed gangs control large swathes of the territory, more than six million people are in urgent need of assistance, and 1.4 million have fled their homes, mainly women and children.
The global body said killings and abductions are rampant, while cases of sexual and gender-based violence have significantly increased.
Canada said it would provide logistical and operational backing for the MSS Mission that is already on the ground, backing up the national police in their efforts to combat the gangs and create a secure environment conducive to the holding of elections.
At the meeting, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand announced that her country is prepared to pledge an additional CAN$40 million to the MSS and its successor mission.
‘We are clearly committed to its success, and we count on other partners to also step up their support as the resolution currently proposes a five-fold increase in size, funding, personnel and equipment,’ she said.
Anand said Canada will also contribute another CAN$20 million to help improve maritime security in the Caribbean.
In a video message, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed stressed that while security support is indispensable, ‘it is not enough to break the cycle of crisis’ that Haiti’s population is facing.
‘Stability will only come when security is matched by a political process, credible elections and economic recovery,’ she said. ‘That means bold financing, blending donor support with investment to mobilise resources at scale and placing them where they matter most: in the hands of the Haitian people.’
The new UN Special Representative for Haiti, Carlos Massieu Ruiz, expressed hope that the Security Council will act urgently on the Secretary-General’s proposals.
He urged countries to take advantage of this opportunity and reaffirm their commitment to Haiti.
‘The path forward demands political will, vision, but mostly resolve,’ Ruiz said. ‘Together, we can help Haiti and Haitian society, Haitian authorities, to turn the tide and embark on a trajectory of peace recovery and inclusive development.’
In a meeting with Ruto on the margins of the UN General Assembly Debate, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Kenya’s ‘brave contributions to Haiti’s peace and security.’
Deputy US State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that both men ’emphasised the need for urgent action at the UN to establish a Gang Suppression Force and UN Support Office for Haiti to combat gang violence and ensure Haiti sets itself back on the path towards stability.
‘The secretary and President Ruto discussed US-Kenyan security co-operation and the pivotal role Kenya plays in ensuring regional security,’ Pigott said.
On Tuesday, September 30, the UN Security Council authorised a new multinational Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti to replace the Kenyan-led security support mission.
The UN said the resolution – co-penned by Panama and the United States, and backed by dozens of countries in the region and beyond – was adopted by a vote of 12 in favour, with three abstentions from China, Pakistan and Russia.
Under an initial 12-month mandate, the UN said the GSF will work in close coordination with the Haitian National Police (HNP) and the Haitian armed forces to conduct intelligence-led operations to neutralise gangs, provide security for critical infrastructure, and support humanitarian access.
The UN said the 5,550-strong force will also protect vulnerable groups, support the reintegration of former fighters and help strengthen Haitian institutions.
Introducing the text in the Security Council, Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba of Panama emphasised the urgency of international support.
‘Since last year, this Council has requested the Secretary-General to put forward recommendations to address the multidimensional crisis in Haiti . Haiti is facing an unprecedented, multi-dimensional crisis that requires our decisive attention,’ he said.
He urged all Security Council members to support the initiative, stating that doing so would ‘send a clear message to Haiti – you are not on your own.’
The UN said the resolution also tasks the Secretary-General to establish a UN Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH) to provide logistical and operational support to the GSF, HNP and Haitian armed forces, including rations, medical care, transportation, strategic communications and troop rotation.
UNSOH will also support the Organisation of American States’ SECURE-Haiti project and ensure compliance with international human rights standards, the UN said.
The United States, a sponsor of the resolution, underscored the scale of the new mission.
Ambassador Mike Waltz said that the MSS mission lacked the scale, scope and resources needed to take the fight to the gangs and restore a baseline of security in Haiti.
‘Today’s vote sets that right, with this vote to transform the MSS mission to the new Gang Suppression Force, a mission five times the size of its predecessor and with a strengthened mandate to go after the gangs,’ he said.
‘The international community is sharing the burden and living up to its promise to help Haiti turn the tide,’ Waltz added. ‘It offers Haiti the chance to assume responsibility for its own security.’
The UN Security Council stressed that Haiti’s government retains ‘primary responsibility’ for national security and governance reform, including tackling corruption, illegal arms flows and the recruitment of children by gangs.
The UN said the GSF is intended to support Haitian authorities while creating conditions for the country to gradually assume full security responsibility.