KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves Friday called on the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to use their summit declaration to call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Addressing the eighth CELAC summit, Gonsalves, the outgoing pro tempore president of the 33-member hemispheric organization, made the call one day after the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who is also attending the summit, said he was shocked that 100 people were killed on Thursday in the war.
Guterres also noted that more than 30,000 civilians have reportedly died since the conflict began on October 7, making it an unprecedented number of civilians killed in a conflict since he has been secretary-general.
Gonsalves told the opening ceremony of the summit that it is “distressing and painful to witness live on television the intransigence of the government of Israel and its small and dwindling number of defenders in the perpetration of genocide against the people of Gaza, and the Palestinians generally.
“In our draft declaration, we are demanding, among other things, an immediate ceasefire, ample humanitarian assistance, the observance of international law, peaceful resolution of the conflict, and a two-state solution as repeatedly endorsed by the United Nations.”
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines leader said that similarly, “the terrible ordeal in Ukraine must come to an end, with negotiations for peace between Russia on the one hand and NATO and Ukraine on the other.
“There is no other practical or wise conclusion. The continuation of the senseless war has the potential of leading humanity into a nuclear Armageddon,” Gonsalves said, also noting that in the Caribbean region, Haiti “continues to be in turmoil and conflict” following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
“The government lacks popular legitimacy, and it has been ineffective,” he said of the administration in Port-au-Prince, which is led by Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya seeking to get the African country to send troops to the Caribbean nation to help restore peace and stability there.
“One alarming statistic is that in January 2024, more Haitians, over 1,200, were killed in Haiti than Ukrainian combatants in the war with Russia,” Gonsalves said, adding, “A political humanitarian and security crisis grips the country.”
Gonsalves said the UN Security Council had adopted a framework for a resolution, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Haiti is a member, is seeking with Haitian stakeholders to fashion “an appropriate political and governance path forward.”
He, however, stated that at the end of the day, “this is a profound matter for the Haitian people.
“They are required to make reasonable compromises without compromising their values in the interest of the people of Haiti. Perfection must not be made the enemy of a good transitional staging post on the way to peace, security, and a democratic way of life.”
Gonsalves said the one-day summit took place “at the time of extraordinary global challenges of great complexity, awash with multiple contradictions.
“These impact significantly on our America, specifically our people’s lives, living and production.
“These externally sourced encumbrances and burdens, which restrict or constrain the scope of action of our people, are made more complicated by homegrown weaknesses, limitations, confusions, and conflicts,” he told hemispheric leaders and guests, which included head of regional, hemispheric and global institutions.
“Despite our strengths and possibilities, including those resident in the genius of our peoples, even with our burdensome travails and setbacks, we have advanced commendably.
“We, by and large, are ordered societies with thriving civilizations and a material base reasonably supportive of uplifting lives and living. We are thriving civilizations. We do not need lessons from anybody about our civilized life and living.”
He said the members of CELAC “have a roadmap for confronting our challenges, encumbrances, burdens, weaknesses and limitations meaningfully.
“And from our inherited and extant conditions, we have set forth a package of policies and programs to advance our people’s interests,” Gonsalves told the summit.
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