Haiti and hurricane Berly: Caribbean region challenges

By Caribbean News Global contributor

NEW YORK, USA, (OCHA / UN News) – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), says the people of Haiti continue to pay a heavy price for the widespread violence that has ravaged the country; meantime, humanitarian colleagues, including teams from OCHA and the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination, continue to ramp up the response and to complete assessments of the damage caused by hurricane Beryl in Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica.

Haiti

Speaking from Port-au-Prince at the conclusion of a four-day visit to the capital and other parts of Haiti, OCHA’s operations and advocacy director, Edem Wosornu, said the country has been “rocked by one disaster after the next.” She briefed journalists at UN Headquarters remotely, alongside officials from UNICEF and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).

During their joint visit, the aid officials saw firsthand how Haitians are coping with the crisis, including farmers, women entrepreneurs, and children who are out of school.

Wosornu called on the international community to stand with Haitians, saying people there told her they want peace and an end to the violence so that they can reclaim their lives.

UN mission extended

Earlier on Friday, the UN Security Council in New York unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN political mission in Haiti, BINUH, until 15 July 2025.

The 15 ambassadors condemned in the strongest terms the increasing violence, criminal activities, mass displacement, and human rights abuses and violations which undermine the peace, stability and security of the country and the region.

Council members welcomed the establishment of the transitional governance arrangement as well as the subsequent creation of the Presidential Transitional Council and the inauguration of the interim prime minister and his cabinet.

They reaffirmed the need for all Haitian stakeholders “to continue to advance a Haitian-led, Haitian-owned political process towards the holding of free and fair legislative and presidential elections.”

In this regard, they highlighted the need for the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women and the engagement of youth, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders.

They also called on all Haitian stakeholders “to urgently establish a Provisional Electoral Council, and reach an agreement on a sustainable, time-bound and commonly accepted roadmap for elections.”

BINUH is the French acronym for the UN Integrated Office in Haiti, which was established by the Security Council in June 2019.

The mission has a presence in Port-au-Prince only, and works primarily with state institutions to strengthen political stability and good governance, advance a peaceful and stable environment, and to protect and promote human rights.

Hurricane Beryl

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and in Grenada, access to remote islands continue to be a challenge due to limited electricity and impassable roads. The islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada lack of electricity, which is hampering communications, and there is an urgent need for generators.

People are seeking refuge in schools and churches in some of these smaller islands due to damage to emergency shelters, and evacuations to the mainland of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are continuing.

“We are also supporting the delivery of food, plastic sheeting and hygiene kits, among other supplies,” said OCHA.