OTTAWA, Canada, CMC—Canada on Tuesday said that helping Haiti transition from its current fragility will require a long-term engagement. It urged stakeholders to stay the course in helping the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, wracked by political violence, insecurity, and economic woes, meet its future objective.
The Director General of the Latin America and Caribbean Division of the Canadian government, Sylvie Bedard, speaking ahead of a panel discussion on Haiti, praised the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for its “sustained engagement in Haiti.
“Helping Haiti transition out of fragility calls for this type of long-term engagement,” she said, also commending the regional integration grouping “for their active support to Haiti’s political dialogue over the last couple of years.”
She said building and stabilizing state structures and the economy takes time, “as does winning back citizens’ trust. Watch video
‘While the short-term response to the crisis remains the priority, we need to work together to address the root causes of Haiti’s fragility and foster resilience recovery more effectively,” Bedard said
She said addressing the root causes of fragility and violence and building resilience “will require strong partnership, sustained engagement with the state, civil society, and the private sector, as well as a flexible and adaptive approach.
“Canada, the Caribbean Development Bank, and many other donors and partners will need to continue to adjust their strategies and program to align with the transition government’s priorities and the evolving needs of the Haitian people.”
The senior Canadian official said, “Robust due diligence and fiduciary risk mechanisms will be critical to ensure our investments reach their intended target.
She said joint fragility assessment and effective donor coordination in Haiti would also be vital in helping the country recover.
“With that in mind, we support the bank’s efforts to deepen its partnerships and collaboration with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other development partners in Haiti.
‘We have learned how important it is to create a stronger and more organized international assistance system in Haiti that lessens the burden on Haiti’s extremely fragile state,” Bedard said.
The panel discussion titled “Haiti Now: Development Priorities and Interventions” forms part of the 54th annual meeting of the CDB Board of Governors that officially gets underway here on Wednesday.
The CDB said that the panel discussion will explore approaches to development in Haiti considering its unique and complex challenges, which combine to make it one of the most fragile states in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
It said the event will provide a platform to examine innovative approaches to sustainable and inclusive development, particularly in light of the recent political crisis and its impact on socio-economic advancement.
Earlier this week, the Australia-based Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) ranked Haiti 11th out of 12 Central America and Caribbean countries.
According to the IEP’s 2023 Global Peace Index (GPI), Haiti recorded the region’s most significant deterioration in peacefulness and the second largest deterioration, with falls in peacefulness across all GPI domains.
IEP said that increases in the intensity of internal conflict, violent crime, and political instability drove the deterioration in peacefulness.
“The intensity of internal conflict deteriorated significantly in Haiti throughout 2022. The country has descended into extreme instability, with a variety of organized crime groups that control much of the country, unleashing violence against both civilians and government security forces.
Download video – Sylvie Bedard, Director General of the Latin America and Caribbean Division of the Canadian government
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