Neighborly nudge to rehabilitate Haiti
The selection of interim leaders for the gang-ruled country only happened after other Caribbean states saw a need to fill a power vacuum.
A woman dances as locals play music on a trail in Milot, Haiti, April 26.
Reuters
In one of the world鈥檚 most violent crises 鈥� which is considered by the United States to be as important as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine 鈥� a solution may have started last Thursday.
Haiti鈥檚 prime minister, forced into exile by the nation鈥檚 powerful gangs, handed over authority to an inclusive group of prominent political leaders to pick a new prime minister and prepare for elections in 2026. Haiti has not held an election for eight years.
鈥淭he situation calls us to rise above ourselves,鈥� said interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert during a swearing-in ceremony in the besieged capital, Port-au-Prince.
The new nine-person transitional council, however, wasn鈥檛 the only act of inclusion.
In March, Haiti鈥檚 neighbors in the Caribbean decided to act in a neighborly way, even if only to prevent the migration of Haitian refugees at their shores. The 15-state Caribbean Community saw the power vacuum in Haiti and gathered in Jamaica to help form the transitional council.
Its support in putting together a Haitian-led solution is a good example of how much the world has come to rely on regional groupings of nations 鈥� in Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, and elsewhere 鈥� to nudge a troubled neighbor toward peace or democracy.
鈥淎t times of deep geopolitical division, it is even more important that聽regional聽organisations play an active role,鈥� said James Kariuki, the United Kingdom鈥檚 deputy representative to the United Nations.
The Caribbean Community鈥檚 support of an interim government in Haiti has already led to a renewal of Kenya鈥檚 offer to lead a multinational force of as many as 2,500 officers to quell the violence in Haiti, relying on a recent resolution by the U.N. Security Council.
Such outside support, of course, depends on Haitians themselves finally acting to save their country. 鈥淔acing this unprecedented crisis,鈥� said R茅gine Abraham, a member of the new Haitian council, 鈥渢he entire population has recognized the urgent need of a firm hand to take us out of this spiral of despair and destruction.鈥�