Jamaica prepared to participate in multinational security assistance to Haiti

The Holness administration has revealed that it is “willing to participate in a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti” which is going through a period of political turbulence and economic and social difficulty, aggravated by a climate of insecurity fueled by armed criminal groups.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has called on countries within the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), “especially those who can” help deal with the ongoing socio-economic and political situation in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

He said to deal with this situation, his administration urged the international community to participate in a specialized multinational force to help the Haitian security forces to fight against the proliferation of organized crime, the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition, and eradicate the gangs that have held the country, hostage.

Last week, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres reiterated his urgent appeal to member states to understand the urgency of acting quickly to support the solutions chosen by Haitian actors.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told legislators that Jamaica’s security forces could be part of the initiative and the situation in the member CARICOM country is a source of worry for his administration and the entire region.

“The Government of Jamaica and indeed the people of Jamaica, even with our own challenges and concerns, are deeply concerned about the humanitarian and security crisis being experienced by our Caribbean neighbor and sister nation Haiti. The people of Haiti continue to have their human rights threatened by powerful gangs and militias which perpetrate heinous crimes including killings, kidnappings and acts of violence against women and children,” said Holness, noting that the situation in Port au Prince had escalated to dangerous proportions with the murder of several policemen recently.

Holness said Jamaica has restated its preparedness to support a united international effort in response to the crisis, which deteriorated in the wake of the July 7, 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

He said he endorses the efforts being contemplated by the Organization of American States (OAS) toward a solution.

“In addition, Jamaica would be willing to participate in a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti under the appropriate jurisdictional parameters to support a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace which would be necessary for any democratic process to take root. Both the Jamaica Constabulary Force and Jamaica Defence Force have been alerted to this possible course of support and they would have started to plan for such eventuality as part of their routine situational awareness and response readiness,” Holness added.

Opposition Leader, Mark Golding told Parliament that there is no doubt the situation in Haiti is of huge interest to Jamaica, “given the proximity of Jamaica to the shores of Haiti.

“It is clearly in Jamaica’s interest for Haiti to be restored to a functional democratic system of government, and that security within Haiti and of its borders be put on a footing where criminal elements, organized and disorganized, do not hold sway,” Golding said. -(CMC)