‘The world has failed to move beyond promises to bring help to the Haitian people,’ PM Mottley stated.

Jamaica is hosting a two-day summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders on Monday, when Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley will be passing the group’s rotating presidency to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

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“The world has failed to move beyond promises to bring help to the Haitian people,” Mottley said and denounced what she described as the international community’s apparent view of Haitians as “second-class citizens.”

She also highlighted that the number of deaths and forced displacements in Haiti surpasses that of many war-torn nations. Haiti is one of the 15 member states of CARICOM, a regional integration organization that has provided a limited number of personnel for the multinational security mission.

Speaking on CARICOM’s support, Mottley acknowledged the limits of the group’s capacity due to the small size and financial constraints of its member states.

“We can help as much as we can, but what is also needed right now is the world,” she said, stressing that the mission needs more infrastructure and weaponry, not just troops “sent as lambs to the slaughter.”

Currently, the multinational mission supporting the Haitian police is led by Kenya. It has United Nations authorization and financial backing from the United States. Jamaican PM Holness acknowledged that the “international momentum in support of Haiti has slowed.”

“Mobilizing international support for security initiatives in Haiti will be another priority area for CARICOM under my chairmanship,” he said, emphasizing that Haitians cannot be left “at the mercy of gangs.”

“We must dismantle the influence of gangs in our communities, cut off their financing, and restrict their access to weapons. We must launch a war on gangs of a scale and nature similar to the war on terror,” Holness asserted.

The text reads: “Deep sadness due to the destruction of Port-au-Prince’s iconic Hotel Oloffson, a cultural gem, a refuge for artists, and a witness to Haitian history.”

CARICOM is currently composed of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Also attending the CARICOM meeting in Jamaica are Interpol Secretary Valdecy Urquiza and Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary Albert Ramdin.

During the OAS General Assembly held in June, the organization approved a U.S.-backed resolution urging member states “to provide support according to their capabilities” for the multinational security mission deployed in Haiti last year.

TeleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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