Colombia Concerned Over Haiti Situation

Colombia is concerned about the situation in Haiti. In an official communiqué from the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country “expresses its enormous concern over the upsurge of violence, criminal activities, and the violation of human rights that undermine peace, stability, and security in the Republic of Haiti.”

Likewise, the Colombian government reaffirms in this document its support for the Haitian people in the search for a “lasting and just structural solution” that will allow them to emerge from the multidimensional crisis they are facing.

Haitian people must lead the solution

The Colombian message advocates that this solution “must be built and led by the Haitian people themselves, with the broad and inclusive participation of the most representative social, political, and economic sectors of the country”.

Likewise, the government of President Gustavo Petro considers “the accompaniment of the international community to the process of building a solution to the crisis in Haiti and, in particular, the support of the countries and forums of consultation in the region.”

It is for all these reasons that Colombia makes “a call for a prompt and concerted solution to alleviate the pain of the Haitian people,” the official communiqué concludes.

Peace and reconciliation

Given the extremely serious situation that the Caribbean country is experiencing, it is recalled that Colombia is walking “firmly towards the consolidation of peace and national reconciliation”, on account of the Total Peace project that the government of President Petro is implementing, not without difficulties with different illegal armed groups.

In this sense, Colombia has reiterated its firm commitment to Haiti, which is: “within the framework of the principles of solidarity, cooperation, and firm commitment to peace and security in the region, prioritizing humanitarian action.”

It should be recalled that Haiti has experienced a worsening of its political and social crisis, which it had been experiencing for decades, since the assassination of constitutional president Jovenel Moise in 2021. With an interim president currently in exile, and with an expired mandate, who recently announced his intention to resign, the country has been taken over by a multitude of criminal gangs fighting for power in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Attempts by the international community to help the Haitian state control the situation and ensure law and order have not been successful. Kenya, the country that was supposed to lead an international humanitarian mission, has experienced internal divisions over the appropriateness of deploying military troops in the Central American country.