Haiti on the agenda of the leaders of the countries of the Caribbean Community CARICOM

Caribbean leaders meet in the Bahamas on Wednesday for a three-day meeting that will include a discussion on the situation in Haiti.

The talks bring together the heads of government of the CARICOM bloc, a 15-member group representing a population of 16 million people.

CARICOM is an integration mechanism established on July 4, 1973 and is made up of 15 Member States and 5 Associates. Members include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis pointed out what he called “the challenges we have in Haiti” while speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting.

Haiti has experienced a period of instability following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, with increased violence and the influence of armed gangs.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is participating in the meetings, and Davis says Trudeau is looking to see what his government can do to try to help the situation in Haiti.

Davis said that whatever the solution is, it must be a Haitian-led solution and that the rest of CARICOM is working to help facilitate that outcome.

“What we’re looking to do is stabilize the country enough to allow for a free and fair election, and the road and the journey to that is where the challenge lies,” Davis said.

The prime minister of the Bahamas said that other items on the agenda include COVID-19, emerging health issues, climate change, food security and energy security. He told reporters that there is an opportunity for regional leaders “to come together for the benefit of the entire Caribbean.”

CARICOM Secretary General Carla Barnett told reporters that fighting climate change means getting the countries in the world that emit the most greenhouse gases “to take charge and do the right thing.”

“Those who are causing the impact are not bearing the burden of dealing with it,” Barnett said. “We are the smallest issuers. We did not cause the problem; we just carry the load.”

[Con información de AP y Reuters]

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