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As CARICOM leaders gather in Jamaica...

US congresswomen call for Haitian PM to step down

Published:Monday | March 11, 2024 | 12:10 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness (centre) with Ariel Henry (right), prime minister of Haiti, and Philip Davis, prime minister of The Bahamas, at the opening ceremony for the Haiti Security Talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Jamaica in June
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness (centre) with Ariel Henry (right), prime minister of Haiti, and Philip Davis, prime minister of The Bahamas, at the opening ceremony for the Haiti Security Talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Jamaica in June last year. New talks on the growing crisis in Haiti are scheduled to take place in Jamaica today.
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
Contributed
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
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United States congresswomen Yvette Clarke, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, and Ayanna Pressley, co-chairs of the US House of Representatives Haiti Caucus, have called for Haitian President Ariel Henry to hand over power to a transitional government and not return to Haiti so as to end the political and humanitarian crisis in the country.

In a joint statement, the three congresswomen also said that there is an urgent need for a multinational security support mission and humanitarian assistance to the country.

“The time has come for Prime Minister Ariel Henry to do what is right for the Haitian people. He should not return to Haiti, and he should immediately hand over power to a transitional consensus government. It is crucial that all parties in Haiti urgently put aside their differences and form a transitional government that does not include Ariel Henry, criminals, and/or associated organisations. No one’s personal ambition is worth the blood of innocent Haitian lives.

“We continue to be deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Haiti. At least 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince is under the control of the gangs while de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry is out of the country and has no credibility to lead. Last year alone, there were nearly 5,000 murders, 2,000 kidnappings, and more than 310,000 people who have been internally displaced. Gangs are routinely using sexual violence and have threatened to start a civil war. Enough is enough,” they said in their statement.

SEEKING ASSISTANCE

“We urge our colleagues in Congress to join the Biden-Harris Administration and the international community in funding urgent assistance to restore security for the Haitian people. Every day we wait for this critical funding, more Haitians will die. The clock is ticking,” they said.

Clarke is of Jamaican descent, while Cherfilu-McCormick is of Haitian descent, and Presley is African American.

In the meantime, the advocacy group Freedom Imaginaries is calling for CARICOM to implement a rights-based regional approach for the protection of Haitian migrants and refugees as leaders prepare to meet in Jamaica today to try to broker a solution to the crisis in Haiti.

In an open letter to the chairman of CARICOM, Dr Irfaan Ali, Freedom Imaginaries expressed deep concern about the “escalating cycle of migration-related abuse targeting Haitians who seek refuge in Caribbean countries”.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has underscored the seriousness of the situation in Haiti, noting the high number of heads of government expected to participate in today’s high-level meeting on the crisis.

The meeting is the latest in a series of facilitation efforts by CARICOM to advance political dialogue and consensus in Haiti.

“Jamaica’s hosting of the meeting falls within the context of its ongoing key role in CARICOM’s response to the situation in Haiti, including the Community’s contribution to and advocacy for greater international support for the United Nations Security Council sanctioned Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti,” Holness said in a media release.

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