The three-member CARICOM Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Haiti that travelled to the French-speaking country last week is recommending that talks between the various groups should continue in order to help “narrow the differences between the protagonists”.
The group, headed by former St Lucian prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony and including his two former prime ministerial colleagues, Bruce Golding of Jamaica and Perry Christie of the Bahamas, had travelled to Port-au-Prince to continue meeting with government and other Haitian stakeholders.
The meetings in Haiti were a follow up to the three-day consultation on Haiti that was held in Jamaica last month in an effort to build consensus and allow inclusive participation in a neutral environment.
The EPG has been tasked, along with a small team comprising the technical expertise in mediation, security, and political research supported by the CARICOM Secretariat, to facilitate consultations with Haitian stakeholders.
On Monday, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is attending the two-day summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States (CELAC), said “we regret that the lack of outcome at this last meeting was the case”.
Holness said “these talks, while not conclusive, allowed for the relevant parties to discuss openly matters of interim governance and transition “ and that “we understand that progress in these matters are not linear, and therefore we remain hopeful”.
In a statement issued by the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat, the EPG, which visited Haiti July 12-15, said emphasis had been placed on the major proposals tabled in Jamaica.
The three-member EPG said that during the visit, in addition to engagements with Prime Minister Ariel Henry and key political and civil society stakeholders, they met with representatives of the business community and a group of persons with expertise in security, human rights and marginalised social groups whose insights were helpful.
“Aware that the mediation effort would take time, the EPG placed emphasis on discussing process in order to put in place a mechanism that would facilitate progress taking into account the inherent difficulties of negotiations involving a large number of protagonists. The objective was attained to some extent.”
The EPG said that it recommended “that talks between the various groups which had taken place since the Jamaica meeting should continue in order to help narrow the differences between the protagonists.
“It also advocated the importance of trust-building by the government. The EPG informed it would return to Haiti in the coming weeks to renew its facilitation efforts,” the statement added.
