The Organization of American States (OAS) is being urged to do more to deal with the socio-economic and political situation in Haiti even as Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry called on “the entire international community, all the countries that are friends of Haiti, to stand by our side.”
Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders, addressing the 52nd Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly, said the Gaston Browne government wanted to make it clear “that Haiti cannot be left by itself to deal with rampaging, armed gangs who kidnap, terrorize, and enrich themselves, defying all laws and tearing down institutions. “
Sir Ronald said the gangs in Haiti must be brought under control without any further delay.
“The countries, in this Assembly, with the resources to help, should do so, and the Haitian authorities must provide them with the guarantees, including stomping our corruption, that are necessary to help.
“The alternative is the creation of a criminal state in our midst, and a base for criminal activity in our neighborhood. The Haitian people do not want this. They are the victims,” the Antigua and Barbuda diplomat told the hemispheric body.
“This OAS has an obligation to help and help now,” he said, adding that the “OAS can be a force for good, an instrument of peace and prosperity and an influence for democracy and development, but only if we reform it, respect it and resource it,” Sir Ronald said.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington “deeply appreciates Canada’s leadership in convening what is an incredibly timely and critical discussion on the situation in Haiti, which builds on important discussions that we’ve had on Haiti on the margins of the UN General Assembly and at the senior-level international partners meetings that we’ve held since December of last year.”
Blinken commended the efforts of the Haitian National Police, “who have been working tirelessly to try to keep the peace.
“But they need our help. They need our continuing support.”
Over the past 18 months, the US Secretary of State said the United States has allocated more than US$90 million in security assistance to strengthen the Haitian police’s capacity to counter the gangs,” adding that the administration is “coordinating closely with our partners to discuss what more we can do.
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