Canada is sending a representative to take part in an immediate meeting in Jamaica on Monday, following an invitation from Caribbean leaders who want to discuss the escalating gang violence. gang violence in Haiti.
A spokesperson for the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, will attend the meeting.
Rae, who is travelling, was not available for a comment on Sunday.
Caricom, a 15-nation Caribbean bloc, stated that Haiti is facing a dire situation. The Caribbean leaders have also invited the United States, France, the United Nations and Brazil to the meeting.
Unyielding gang attacks have paralyzed Haiti for more than a week, leaving the country with diminishing supplies of basic goods. Haitian officials extended a state of emergency and nightly curfew on Thursday as gangs continued to attack key state institutions.
Global Affairs Canada confirmed with Global News Sunday that there are currently 2,904 Canadians in Haiti registered with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service.
“The Government of Canada is not planning any departure assistance or repatriation flights for Canadians in Haiti. However, we continue to monitor and assess the security situation very closely,” an email from Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Marilyne Guèvremont said.
Members of the Caricom regional trade bloc have been attempting for months to get political actors in Haiti to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government. But average Haitians, many of whom have been forced from their homes by the bloody street fighting, can’t wait. The problem for police in securing government buildings is that many Haitians have streamed into them, seeking refuge.
Caricom stated on Friday that while regional leaders remain deeply engaged in trying to bring opposition parties and civil society groups together to form a unity government, “the stakeholders are not yet where they need to be.”
“We are acutely aware of the urgent need for consensus to be reached,” the statement said.
“We have impressed on the respective parties that time is not on their side in agreeing to the way forward. From our reports, the situation on the ground remains dire and is of serious concern to us.”
Joly issued a statement Friday on her social media accounts saying Canada strongly condemns the abuses being committed by armed gangs in Haiti.
“Canada will continue to support Haitian-led solutions to the political, security and humanitarian crises. All Haitian stakeholders, including the government and Haitian civil society must be fully engaged in the search and implementation of these solutions,” she said.
Canada committed $80.5 million last month to a Kenya-led multinational security mission intended to support Haitian National Police. The majority of the funding, $27.1 million, will be allocated to the United Nations Office for Project Support to purchase personal protective equipment, vehicles and logistical and communications equipment for the force.
Joly stated that she remains in regular contact with her counterparts from Caricom, adding they will take steps to support “inclusive political dialogue” and improve the security situation in Haiti.
In February, troubled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to organize general elections by mid-2025, and the global community has attempted to locate a foreign armed force willing to combat gang violence there.
Caricom has also urged Henry to announce a power-sharing, agreement government in the meantime, but the prime minister has yet to do so even as Haitian opposition parties and civil society groups are demanding his resignation.
Henry, a brain surgeon, was selected as Haiti’s prime minister after the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moise.
It was uncertain whether Henry would be in Jamaica for the CARICOM meeting.
–with files from Global News.
