Guyana-chaired CARICOM says Haiti’s Prime Minister agrees to resign; transitional council framework announced

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 March 2024, 4:29 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali (fifth from left) flanked by colleague leaders, former leaders and officials of the CARICOM headquarters.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), under the chairmanship of Guyana, early Tuesday announced that Haiti’s Prime Minister Dr Ariel Henry has agreed to resign after an already brokered transitional presidential council, with no ties to criminal activity, has been established.

“The transitional presidential council will hold the relevant and possible powers of the Haitian presidency during the transition period until an elected government is established,” CARICOM’s Chairman, Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali announced. On behalf of the 15-nation bloc, he said “we acknowledge the resignation” of Henry after the transitional presidential council and the naming of an interim prime minister.

Dr Henry has since announced that he would quit once the council is set up.

Flanked by several current and former CARICOM leaders, Dr Ali announced that “after hard compromises” the council would be made up of seven-member voting council members and two non-voting observers. The seven-voting members would comprise one representative each from Colective 21 Decembre, EDE/RED, Fanmi Lavalas, Montana Accord and Petit Dessalin and the private sector, and the non-voting members would each be from the civil society and the inter-faith community. “The council will exercise specified presidential authorities during the transition, operating by majority vote,” he said.

Dr Ali said under the Haiti-led deal, the transitional presidential council would “swiftly select and appoint an interim Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and the Council would then appoint an inclusive council of ministers. “The parties also make specific individual commitments regarding principals of inclusion, integrity, restoration of peace and orderly transition of power. These shared and individual commitments can represent important steps towards facilitating increased humanitarian access to help ease the suffering of the Haitian people,” the Guyanese leader added.

Heavily armed gangs, under the leadership of former elite policeman Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, had for several weeks been pushing for Dr Henry to step down and had even blocked him from returning to Haiti from Kenya where he had gone to ink an agreement for Kenyan troops to be deployed to his strife-torn country. Dr. Henry, who is in Puerto Rico, did not attend the CARICOM meeting in Jamaica that was attended by top officials from the United States, France, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Benin, Kenya as well as the United Nations (UN).

But CARICOM said the presidential council would not include anyone who is currently on a charge, indictment or has been convicted in any jurisdiction; anyone who is under United Nations sanctions, intended contestant of the next election, and opponents of UN Security Council Resolution 2699. President Ali also stated categorically that CARICOM did not speak with gangs. “The clear answer is that we had no engagement with any gang or gang leader or anything like that to our knowledge…to the best of our combined knowledge,” Dr Ali said.

The Haiti transitional presidential council would appoint an inclusive council of ministers; co-sign orders, decrees, approve the agenda of the ministerial council; set the selection criteria for the appointment of an impartial provisional electoral council; arrange the peaceful transition, ensure continuity of governance and establish a national security council, and continue collaboration with all members of the international community for the accelerated deployment of the UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission.

CARICOM appealed to the Haitians to be patient and give the agreement an opportunity to work by entering into national dialogue, encourages inclusivity and paves the way for elections “as soon as possible.” “This is the only sustainable path to a future of strong democratic institutions, peaceful resolution of conflict and security and prosperity of all Haitians,” the CARICOM Chairman said.

The news conference was shared by Jamaica’s Foreign Minister; Kamina Johnson Smith; CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett; Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Phillip Davis; St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves; Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and members of the Eminent Persons Group- former Prime Minister of St Lucia Dr Kenny Anthony, former Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie and former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

The US has since increased its commitment from US$100 million to US$300 million for the UN mission.