Canada's ambassador to the United Nations says the world must act as the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate ahead of key meetings of Caribbean nations and partners in Jamaica.
Bob Rae will travel to Kingston to meet with other leaders at a meeting of the Caribbean intergovernmental organization CARICOM to discuss the chaos in Haiti. In an interview on Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday, he said the situation was extremely serious.
“The country is now effectively run by gangs and that cannot be allowed to continue,” Rae told CBC chief correspondent Rosemary Barton.
Chaos and disorder reign in Haiti as criminal gangs increasingly gain control of the country. Haiti's acting leader, Ariel Henry, is outside the country trying to negotiate a way home, even as the United States calls for his resignation and plans elections for a new government.
On Sunday, the United States said it had deployed additional security to its embassy in Port-au-Prince and flown some non-essential diplomatic staff out of the country.
The United Nations said in a report released earlier this year that at least 4,789 people were killed by violence in the country in 2023, nearly double the previous year. Gangs have closed the capital's airport and released thousands of prisoners in recent days.
A United Nations-backed deal for a Kenyan-led multinational force has been floundering for months, stalled by internal legal problems. Haiti had requested an international force and economic aid.
VIEW | Canada's ambassador to Haiti speaks about the deteriorating situation:
“Gangs are working together” to attack key infrastructure in the capital, says Canada’s ambassador to Haiti
Canadian Ambassador to Haiti André François Giroux says violence in Haiti is nothing new – but it is escalating as the siege of the capital closes airports and leaves people unable to get in or out of the city.
Henry originally left the country last week to meet with Kenyan leaders and push for the deployment. He has reportedly been in Puerto Rico since Tuesday.
According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again pushed for Henry's resignation on Thursday.
Daniel Foote, the former US special envoy to Haiti, told CBC News this week that Henry now has no choice but to resign: “There is no government to go back to. A week ago there was no government, and there is no government.” Now.
“If he goes back, I'm…sure he'll be killed.”
Foote called on the international community not to force a solution on Haiti, but to empower the country to find its own political solution.
“If the international community makes its decisions again this time, the results will be just as disastrous.” we'll see today.
Rae said on Sunday that the unrest in the country is making it impossible to bring urgently needed goods and aid.
“We've been involved in a number of mediation efforts to try to put in place an interim government that can actually deal more effectively with the chaos and the gangs,” he said.
“We're really going to try to figure out not only how we can…encourage Haitians to have a successful transition, but also how we can make sure we can respond to the criminal activity that has taken over the country.” “