Port-au-Prince. – The Haitian Presidential Transition Council (CPT) flatly rejected this Friday the proposal of the new Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin, who suggested the possibility of initiating a dialogue with criminal groups in order to resolve the crisis the country is suffering.
“Haitian society, in all its components, has suffered greatly from the consequences of the criminal insecurity that has plagued the country for several years. Therefore, it does not conceive of negotiation with the perpetrators of these atrocious acts that endanger the future of the nation,” the Council states in a statement published on its Facebook page.
The CPT nevertheless praises Ramdin’s commitment to Haiti and assures him that it will work in collaboration with the Government, “tirelessly, in the search for appropriate solutions to rebuild the social fabric and lay the foundations for lasting peace.”
To this end, these institutions have “the understanding and good collaboration of all regional institutions and, above all, of neighboring states,” it continues.
It highlights that it has created a support commission for the implementation of the national network of shelters and re-education houses for minors and child soldiers, in order to “offer a future to those who have been doubly victims of this unprecedented violence”.
This commission, it indicates, should study the necessary measures to contribute to the establishment of a framework that facilitates the supervision and reintegration of young people in difficult situations.
On May 30th, Surinamese Albert Ramdin took office as Secretary General of the OAS, replacing
Luis Almagro, and announced that Haiti will be “at the top” of his agenda, as “nowhere else on the continent are democracy, the rule of law, security, human rights and development more threatened.”
Ramdin, the first Secretary General of Caribbean origin, announced the relaunch of the Group of Friends of Haiti, a platform to coordinate support for that country, and will seek to strengthen cooperation with other regional and international actors, such as Caricom or the United Nations.
Situation in Haiti
Haiti is mired in an unprecedented sociopolitical, economic, and humanitarian crisis, as well as extreme violence that has led nearly 1.3 million people to become internally displaced.
Despite the deployment almost a year ago of the Multinational Security Support Mission, led by Kenya and endorsed by the UN, in the first three months of this year alone, 1,617 people died and another 580 were injured by violence.
You may be interested in: Three Haitian terrorists who were trying to buy suicide drones are arrested in the DR
These criminal acts involve armed gangs, self-defense groups and unorganized members of the population, as well as operations by security forces, according to data from the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (Binuh).
In 2024, violence in Haiti caused at least 5,626 deaths (a thousand more than the previous year), 2,213 injuries, and 1,494 kidnappings, according to figures verified by the UN.
