(BROOKLYN, NEW YORK): Grenada and its Regional Security System (RSS) partners have endorsed a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) decision to seek the support of the United Nations in addressing the situation in Venezuela.
An emergency meeting called by CARICOM agreed that current Chairman, Prime Minister, Dr. Timothy Harris of St Kitts and Nevis will seek an urgent meeting with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter David was included in the CARICOM delegation which met with the UN Secretary-General.
A meeting of the RSS Council of Ministers in Barbados also discussed the situation in Venezuela and cited a need for regional unity on how to best address the current crisis. Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Dr. Keith Mitchell, who attended the meeting, predicts that the crisis can easily engulf the rest of the region if the current situation continues.
“Venezuela is right at our borders so what is happening there, if it is not dealt with or solved peacefully, it can have serious consequences for all the countries in the region, including Grenada,” he said.
“If that situation in Venezuela is allowed to prevail, where the United States and other countries have taken one side and China and Russia have taken another side, and either side provides military and others forms of support; without serious mediation, we can see it engulfing the region and all of us will pay a heavy price,” Dr. Mitchell warned.
Dr. Mitchell said serious mediation is the only way to amicably resolve the crisis. “We hope the UN support, CARICOM support and the support of other countries around the world, there can be some initiative taken to mediate the situation there. No attempt should be made to appear to imply that one side should be dealt with and the other side forgotten,” he stated.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), comprising Dr. Timothy Harris, Chairman of CARICOM, Mia Mottley and Dr. Keith Rowley, Prime Ministers of St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, respectively, and the Peter David, Foreign Minister of Grenada, Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary-General, as well as the Permanent Representatives of these countries, met recently with the United Nations Secretary-General HE Antonio Guterres to discuss the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The CARICOM delegation expressed its grave concern over the untenable situation in Venezuela. The delegation strongly urged that further deterioration would seriously aggravate the plight of Venezuelans. The Caribbean Community is steadfast that the region must remain a Zone of Peace.
The CARICOM delegation emphasized its commitment to the tenets of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter which calls on states to refrain from the threat or the use of force. CARICOM has been consistent in the critical importance it accords to the key principles of non-interference and non-intervention. CARICOM reaffirmed the view that there was an urgent need for meaningful dialogue leading to a peaceful internal solution for the Venezuelan people. The Caribbean Community is resolute in its belief that it is never too late for dialogue since the consequences of no dialogue will be dire.
The United Nations Secretary General extended his offer of good offices, circumstances permitting, to facilitate dialogue and negotiation between the parties. The CARICOM delegation indicated its readiness to work assiduously to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
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