P-to-P, April 12, 2024 [AlterPresse] — The French and Canadian governments continue to express their concerns about the seriousness of the security crisis and its dramatic consequences for the Haitian population, in a joint statement noted by the online agency AlterPresse.
Canada and France are cooperating closely to mobilize the international community in support of the efforts of Haitians, with a view to restoring security, the rule of law and democracy, declared the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and his French counterpart, Gabriel Attal, during a meeting on Thursday April 11, 2024.
They call for the rapid deployment of Multilateral Security Support Mission (Mmas) in Haiti to help the Haitian National Police (PNH) fight organized crime.
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, also known as Foreign Minister, David Cameron, announced a contribution of £5 million, or more than US$6 million (Editor’s note: US $ 1.00=+ 140.00 gourdes; 1 euro=145.00 gourdes; 1 Canadian dollar=99.00 gourdes; 1 Dominican peso=2.40 gourdes today), with a view to the deployment of Mmas in Haiti, which should be led by Kenya, in a press release.
This sum will strengthen the United Kingdom’s support for the Mmas, which will contribute, in collaboration with the Haitian National Police (PNH), to fight against the violence of armed gangs which are destabilizing the country, according to Cameron.
“The rapid deployment of this mission, to support the Haitian National Police in restoring security, remains vital,” said the Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the United States Department of State in a tweet. of America, Brian A. Nichols, while thanking the United Kingdom for its contribution to the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti.
American legislators, particularly Republicans, conditioned a release of $40 million, requested by the Department of State of the United States of America, to details from the Joe Biden administration on the deployment of Mmasindicated the Reuters agency in an article.
The deployment of this multinational force was authorized by the Security Council of the United Nations, since Monday October 2, 2023.
The Government of Kenya decided to suspend the planned sending of Kenyan police officers to Haitias part of this mission in Haiti, according to a senior official from the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
To justify this provisional suspension, he cited a radical change, following the complete collapse of public order and the resignation, on Monday March 11, 2024, of de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
From January to March 2024, the UN recorded more than 1,500 people killed.
More, the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (Rnddh) was able to document only 208 people, including 13 national police officers, murdered in armed violence during the first quarter of 2024 in Haitiin a report dated Wednesday April 10, 2024.
Among these victims, 55 dead bodies, including that of a national police officer, were discovered in Port-au-Prince, Delmas and Pétionville.
For their part, from January to March 22, 2024, the United Nations noted having counted 1,554 people killed and 826 others injured in Haiti.
France and Canada call for the formation of a government to restore security in Haiti
Furthermore, France and Canada encourage the Presidential Transitional Council, once in place, to form a government and institutions enabling security to be restored and progress as quickly as possible towards the organization of transparent, fair and credible, for the benefit of the Haitian population.
Until now, the draft decree as well as the political agreement for the creation and operation of the said Council have been slow to be published in the official newspaper of Haiti “Le Moniteur”.
The Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the current de facto Council of Ministers, led by Michel Patrick Boisvert, de facto interim prime minister since the resignation of Ariel Henry on Monday March 11, 2024would be in possession of the documents.
The creation of a Presidential Transitional Council, responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leaders, would be imminent, an American diplomat said on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, during a heated forum on the growing crisis in Haiti, reports Associated Press in an article.
The nine-member Presidential Transitional Council (including two non-voting observers) could be officially established in Haiti as early as this week, said Brian A. Nichols, US assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs. , during an event organized in New York by the Council on Foreign Relations.
A new elected president is expected to take office on February 7, 2026 in Haiti, following a 22-month transitionfollowing a political agreement initialed by around twenty personalities from 9 sectors.
“The mandate of the Presidential Council, composed of representatives of 9 sectors, including 2 observers, ends on February 7, 2026,” states the document.
“The Presidential Transitional Council cannot benefit from the extension of its mandate, which begins on the date of its swearing-in,” according to the document. [emb rc apr 12/04/2024 12:15]
Photo: Account X of the French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal
