UNITED NATIONS-Suriname calls for international assistance for Haiti

United Nations, CMC– Suriname President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi Wednesday called on the international community to do more to deal with Haiti’s socio-economic and political situation.

Haiti has been in turmoil since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, with the interim government of Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry urging the international community to send in a multi-national force to maintain peace and security in the country.

In a wide-ranging speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Santokhi, whose country is part of the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping seeking to deal with the situation in the French-speaking country, said the political humanitarian and security environment in Haiti is deteriorating.

He said while he appreciates the efforts made so far to assist in finding an immediate solution, “much more political efforts need to be made to translate intentions into tangible actions.

“The people of Haiti are looking towards regional and international communities for assistance. At the same time, the Haitian stakeholders, divided into opposing groups, must demonstrate the will to dialogue and reach consensus on a way forward in the shortest time possible,” he told the global community.

Santokhi used his address to call on the United States to end the decades-old embargo against Cuba, saying that during a visit to Havana last week, “I experienced the negative impact of the long-standing embargo.”

In February 1962, US President John F. Kennedy proclaimed an embargo on trade between the United States and Cuba in response to specific actions the Cuban government took and directed the Departments of Commerce and the Treasury to implement the embargo, which remains in place today.

Santokhi described the embargo as one “that has not achieved what it was meant for.”

The Suriname head of state said that he had been addressing the UNGA over the past four years, where promises have been made and only sometimes kept.

“I am afraid to conclude that not much has changed for the better regarding the essential elements of peace, prosperity, and climate in our world. On the other hand, the challenges, promises, and crises have deepened.

“Every time we speak to a regional and international audience… we express noble goals, delivery is poor. This cannot go on as business as usual and cannot be our mantra.”

Santokhi said one of the worst-kept promises has come from the developed countries promising assistance to developing countries to deal with the impact of climate change.

He said while Suriname remains committed and continues to play its part in protecting the planet, “We cannot go to Dubai in less than two months and hear the same stories, the same policies, the same speeches with noble goals, and after that, nothing happens.”

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) will be convened in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12 this year, and developing countries have been urging the developed countries to meet their financial and other commitments.

Santokhi said it takes too long to make the required decisions that will have a meaningful impact on improving the living conditions of the global community.

“We need easier access to climate financing to implement mitigation and adaptation policies. We must walk the talk regarding loss and damage. We must join the efforts to compensate highly forested countries for the so-called removal credits. So far, these countries have acted as carbon neutral for the world without compensation”.

Santokhi said that many developing countries have raised the need for a comprehensive and urgent reform of the international financial architecture to address the socio-economic and environmental challenges globally.

, He said an integral part of that reform process must include the discussion on the new way of classifying developing countries, “and I ask all of us to contribute to the proposed Multivulnerability Index” that measures the exposure of a population to some hazard. Typically, the index is a composite of multiple quantitative indicators that, via some formula, deliver a single numerical result.