The situation in Haiti

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Dear colleagues, the Dominican Republic welcomes the resolution adopted by this Permanent Council today. We wish to stress that it is a demonstration of the joint work and collective effort of the members of this Organization to address the situations that Haiti faces today.

Haiti requires all the assistance and collaboration necessary to move forward in its democratic process. Several electoral processes are due to be held this year, some of them already delayed. Converging at this moment in history are economic, social, political, environmental, humanitarian and security challenges, each one heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic and often eclipsed, before the community of nations, by other situations in our Hemisphere that compete for attention and resources. Today, therefore, this Organization takes an important step, one that must be continued and sustained over time, for instability in Haiti can threaten the entire region.

The Dominican Republic believes that the approach to the situation in Haiti must be multidimensional. The permanent support and accompaniment of the international community and of multilateral organizations is indispensable, as an exercise in shared responsibility. On this point, it must be clearly established that there is not, and cannot be, a Dominican solution to the Haitian situation. The principle of good-neighborliness between the two nations cannot and must never impair strict compliance with Dominican and international law.

Madam Chair, the Dominican Republic wishes for Haiti more investment, greater production and job creation, food security and more tourism, to name but a few. Both the Dominican Government and the private sector cooperate with Haiti, providing technical assistance and generating jobs and investment in that sister nation; yet when there are threats to social and political stability, none of this can be achieved.

Strengthening relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti is a priority for the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader. In this regard, we wish to highlight the impetus given to the work of the Dominican-Haitian Joint Bilateral Commission, which seeks to carry out technical cooperation projects in the areas of social development, transport, border control, security, trade, investment and tourism, among others, all with the aim of promoting development between the two countries.

The Dominican Republic reiterates its call for dialogue to the social, political and business sectors of Haiti, so that there is no violence in the search for solutions on behalf of the Haitian people. In this regard, our country views with sympathy the holding of the elections in Haiti scheduled for this year, 2021, which must be free, democratic and transparent, with the observation and good offices of this Organization of American States and of the international community.

Finally, we reiterate that our country will support any multilateral initiative that seeks to bring Haiti closer to a consensus roadmap and to possible agreements among the different actors, for the sake of peace and of political, social, economic and food stability in that country.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.