“Boots on the ground are not the issue at this time,” Caricom President Davis said.
On Thursday, Philip Davis, the president of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Prime Minister of the Bahamas, said that the Caribbean countries have no intention of sending forces to Haiti, despite recent requests to restore security.
“Boots on the ground are not the issue at this time,” Davis said a week after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris renewed the call for a multinational security force in Haiti during her meeting with Caricom leaders in the Bahamas.
Following that summit, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry also revealed that he reiterated his request for a special multinational force to help the country address the insecurity that has prevailed for over five years to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
According to Davis, Caricom advocates for a mechanism to help the Haitian police restore law and order in the country themselves.
“For now, we suggest that the mechanism should provide resources, assist in recruitment and training, and ensure that they can carry out their jobs. That is the first line of the discussed initiative,” he explained.
Caricom members include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.
Davis also referred to the consultations held this week in Jamaica among influential leaders of Haiti to address the political, economic, and security challenges in the country.
“There were around 50 leaders from political parties and the business community discussing the way forward for Haiti,” said Davis, who acknowledged that there was “tension” among those present. He anticipated that all stakeholders in Haiti are receptive to some form of assistance to the Haitian national police.
“There must be a space of peace for there to be free and fair elections, and the only way to do that is by pushing back against the gangs,” he added.
Former Prime Ministers of the Bahamas, St. Lucia, and Jamaica, Perry Christie, Kenny Anthony, and Bruce Golding, respectively, served as mediators among the Haitian stakeholders. The Haitian Prime Minister pledged to achieve greater inclusivity in governance through the establishment of a “Government of national unity.”
“We will work with the partners of the December 21 Agreement and other stakeholders to expand the composition of the High Council for the Transition. These changes will allow us to hold credible elections and restore a government based on the Constitution,” Henry said.