The situation in Haiti

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

We are grateful for the inclusion in the order of business of this important item, "The situation in Haiti." We take note of the presentations by Ambassador Léon Charles, Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Mr. Cristobal Dupouy and Mr. Georges Fauriol. We also welcome the presence of Professor Rebecca Chavez at this meeting of the Permanent Council. It is always enriching to have the Inter-American Dialogue among us and to hear from it.

Mr. Chair, from all that we know and from what we have heard today, it is evident that, as Ambassador Léon Charles said, Haiti faces the gravest crisis of its modern history. For the Dominican Republic, that multidimensional crisis in Haiti, marked by a spiral of violence and chaos, is a threat to our national security.

As you know, on October 21 the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) adopted resolution S/RES/2653 (2022), which established a sanctions committee for those who finance the criminal organizations that sow violence and chaos in Haiti.

We look with sympathy on the progress that some states present here have promoted in that direction; these are concrete signals and actions that help to galvanize a spirit of collective responsibility, but much more is still needed. It is also encouraging to learn of the interest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), collectively and individually through many of its members, in becoming actively and supportively involved in the search for practical solutions to the crisis of one of its members. Its role and active participation are of great value and importance.

Nevertheless, the principal request of the Haitian authorities is the deployment of an armed force in support of their national police to counter the violence and firepower of the armed groups that control part of that country's territory and keep its authorities and part of its population under existential threat, and that request still remains without a concrete answer.

We view with concern the tendency toward a bilateral approach to this complex problem, which clearly requires collective effort, flexible and creative leadership, and coordinated actions in concert with the Haitian authorities. As our Foreign Minister, Roberto Álvarez, stated a few days ago, and I quote:

Aware of the questionable legacy of previous UN missions in Haiti, the Dominican Government understands that it is legitimate to consider and plan any response properly in order to avoid the errors of the past and, above all, to avoid a solution that disregards the will of the Haitians. But, as direct witnesses of the human drama in the neighboring country, we also know that every minute of waiting means a further collapse of the situation and more suffering for innocent citizens. We have always recognized that a national pact leading to fair, free and transparent elections is an essential element for recovering stability in Haiti, through the legitimacy of its authorities.

That said, any legitimate national agreement and any viable process for organizing elections must be preceded by the pacification of the territory, something that today is clearly not on the horizon, since there is no force capable of prevailing over the armed gangs.

Dear colleagues, security is the immediate priority in Haiti; it is what the Haitian authorities have urgently asked for assistance with. They must therefore receive all the support they need to confront that situation and then to promote the processes required to recover democratic stability and overcome structural and immediate challenges. Those challenges have already been described here: a humanitarian crisis marked by severe food insecurity, a health crisis evident in the precarious state of the hospital infrastructure and the worsened cholera epidemic, and substantive challenges in the economic and environmental spheres.

Distinguished colleagues, given the picture described and the impossibility of formalizing a proper management of the border with shared responsibility, our frontier has become a source of difficulties; we face trafficking in persons, trafficking in arms and narcotics, and the smuggling of goods and merchandise. We address all these scourges resolutely with the help of our international partners, but each day it becomes more complicated.

As you may surmise, we also face the challenge of providing basic care to the migrant population; the impact of this additional pressure on the social policies of the Dominican State tends to destabilize us, for when migration takes place outside the law, order and security, political, social, economic and public security challenges quickly arise.

Many of the states present here know perfectly well what we are referring to and have shown their deep concern at the difficulty of managing these irregular phenomena properly. I invite you to think of that challenge in the context of our island, given the humanitarian and institutional crisis in Haiti, in a territory of less than eighty thousand square kilometers and more than twenty million human beings. For that reason we reiterate once again that our Government is obliged to take the measures necessary to preserve our territorial integrity, the security of our citizens and our social and economic stability.

Mr. Chair, ambassadors, we are a nation of solidarity and we frame our conduct in respect for the rules-based international order. We will continue to play the role of a good neighbor and will remain a reliable partner of the international community. We ask that, when such complex situations are assessed, no State be asked to do what is not asked of others.

Finally, regarding the next steps, we must be aware of the capacities required to undertake the immense task ahead and of the institutional limitations, so that, from here, we do not duplicate efforts or waste valuable energy or resources. We understand that the role of the Organization of American States must be to support the Haitian authorities in coordination with the efforts promoted from the United Nations.

Thank you very much.