PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres Monday appealed to the international community to help establish an international force to bring about peace and stability in Haiti, even as Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders said the situation in the French-speaking Caricom country is “a major item on their agenda for their summit here”.

Guterres, who held talks with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, told reporters that “we must collectively do more to help the Haitian people chart the best towards elections and the political solution.

“But there can be no lasting security without stressing democratic institutions. And there can be no strong democratic institutions without the drastic improvement of the security situation”. He added, “That is why I have been advocating for the deployment of an international security force authorised by the security council and they will to cooperate with the Haitian National Police to dismantle the gangs that have created this unprecedented violence.”

Guterres, who was expected to address the Caricom Summit that opened later on Monday, told reporters that “both African and Caribbean countries have shown their availability to participate in these efforts, and I appeal to those that have the capacity that is needed to also volunteer themselves”.

He added that it was also important to look “seriously” into the arms trafficking situation in the region, and to adopt international measures in order to be able to curb the trade.

“I mean, Haiti, the tragedy of Haiti, the violence of Haiti …the capacity of the gangs would not exist if there was no weapons trafficking into Haiti. And so this must be the full priority for the international community.”

The UN Secretary General reiterated that “it is time for all those who have the capacity to create the basic conditions for this force to exist to volunteer themselves to participate. The question is not the question of the Security Council decision, the most important problem is we need to have countries that have the robust kind of police force and the robust kind of equipment and logistic support to be able to also volunteer themselves.

“I have seen African countries volunteering, I have seen countries in the Caribbean volunteer, but most of them have limited capacity. So I think we need to have the key players having a very strong commitment to also participate in such an operation and I believe the Security Council will support and convey the necessary mandate,” Guterres added.

Prime Minister Rowley told reporters that Caricom “has been engaged with our neighbours Canada in particular; it’s a major item on the agenda to be discussed (and) recently there was a meeting in Jamaica where the political leadership of the various groupings came out of Haiti to decide …what exactly they will support and we talking to African nations to help.

“We believe the problem has gone beyond the region and wherever help can be had, so there’s a lot to be said about Haiti,” Rowley said, telling reporters they will be better informed following the end of the summit here.

Caricom Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Caricom would not make any decision regarding the international force.

“That is a decision for Haiti and the people of Haiti and the people of Haiti to make that decision. Whatever is decided, we will work along with Haiti but we will not support it if the people of Haiti don’t want it. So it is really to decide what the people of Haiti want. The prime minister (Ariel Henry) has asked for that, that is on the conversation. There are issues preventing that being implemented. Such as the juridical authority to do that.

“There isn’t a UN Security Council resolution that would provide for that at this stage, so there are things that need to be sorted out before that can take place,” she told CMC, adding that the regional integration movement is involved in “a series of problems that we are helping Haiti to deal with”.

Added Barnett: “We have already began a process with Haiti, meaning the Haitian people, meaning the stakeholders, including the government in place, including civil society, including parties, including the widest range of stakeholders in Haiti to discuss with them if we can help them to help their own solution.

“We are different because Haiti is a member of Caricom. We are not dealing with a third state. We are different because we don’t have a history of trying to impose solutions or intervene in any way. So, what we are doing along with Haiti is to help them to find solutions that are implementable. There are solutions that have to be found in relation to crime and security, in relation to political stability. There is a major humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in Haiti that nobody seems to be paying any mind to and so we are very concerned about that as well,” Barnett added.

Haiti has been plunged into deep political and socio-economic problems highlighted by the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise at his private residence overlooking the capital.

Criminal gangs as well as opposition politicians have been calling for the Henry Administration that came to office following Moise’s murder to step down.