Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena made an impassioned plea to help Haiti at its time of need as the state apparatus breaks down and gangs take over the running of the country.

She was addressing the high-level meeting on Haiti convened in Jamaica by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on March 11.

She stressed that the people of Haiti are the most important actors in ensuring the welfare of their country and that this should not be solely left to foreign entities.

Below is her full address: 

Prime ministers, ministers and vice ministers from CARICOM countries, as well as from all the countries of who are here with us today, I convey fraternal greetings from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as well as his best wishes for this to be a fruitful meeting, in which decisive agreements become effective actions to ensure the security and stability of Haiti, and most importantly, any agreement should be Haitian-led and include Haitians and its political actors and stakeholders.

We must transcend words and go beyond commitments made solely on paper and move to decisive action.

We are here to support Haitians to find their stability and to own their process to return to normality.

Haiti has the potential to become once again a historical reference in the defence of liberty, equality, and fraternity among human beings.

Mexico deeply regrets the institutional decline in Haiti and strongly condemns the acts of systematised violence perpetrated by gangs that compromise the rule of law plus a constant violation of human rights.

I wish to recognise the efforts of CARICOM to promote a dialogue between the political forces of the country. A lasting and permanent solution can only come from within the Haitian context, one that includes all Haitian actors and does not involve foreign interference, but real support from the international community.

Mexico joins the call made to the Haitian authorities and all stakeholders, hoping that by placing the national interest and the welfare of its population, they can reach today the necessary agreements that guarantee order, security conditions for free elections, through a democratic process so that Haiti, as a sovereign country, can return to consistent stability.

Dear friends, first, we, as part of the international and regional community fully support the establishment of a Presidential Council as soon as possible, plus the principles agreed here by all stakeholders to be eligible as members of this presidential council.

Second, we support the proposed responsibilities, both presented by PM Mia Mottley, which are the result of a participatory and consultative process and dialogue among all relevant Haitian stakeholders.

And thirdly, Mexico is fully committed to engage in the deployment of the MSS Multinational Security Support Mission.

We recognise Kenya’s leadership in its articulation and make an urgent appeal to countries that are friends of Haiti to contribute, within their means, to facilitate an immediate deployment.

When we were members of the United Nations Security Council, Mexico promoted the resolutions that renewed the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti and resolution 2653, which imposed multilateral sanctions on non-state actors linked to gang financing and arms trafficking.

We urge the sanctions committee to act more effectively in implementing this resolution.

We are aware that this situation is not recent and that in order to resolve it effectively, it is imperative to address its root causes, which include poverty, inequality, violence and social disintegration. A country exposed to extraction of natural resources and structural gaps between the few that have everything and the majority that have almost nothing.

Through CARICOM, Mexico will continue our development cooperation programs in agriculture, health, and the environment. It is essential to support projects for development and to increase the productive capacities and job opportunities of Haitians.

Without development, there can be no security.

Without development, there can be no stability. This is not a technical statement it is a political mandate that demands the joint will of all of us.

For several years, Mexico has supported Haiti with cooperation and training programs for the National Police and the Armed Forces. To date, we have trained 762 Haitian officers, and we will continue to do so, doubling our efforts at this crucial time.

Mexico has also contributed significantly to the Basket Fund on security in Haiti. We have shared valuable technical expertise for the creation of a police Command and Control Center, in addition to providing training in essential areas, such as the legitimate use of force with a focus on human rights, the implementation of community policing practices, and the protection of officers. We are committed to continue working closely together to strengthen security in Haiti.

To safeguard our efforts for Haiti’s stability and security, it is imperative to work together to fight firearms trafficking, which gives disproportionate capabilities to organised crime and represents a risk, not only for Haiti, but for the entire continent.

Supporting Haiti also means strengthening regional stability. The consequences of this unfortunate situation have important implications for phenomena that transcend borders, such as irregular migration and human trafficking. 

We have provided refuge to more than 43,000 Haitians and we are supporting them in finding formal jobs and fully integrating them into our society.

We will continue to do so, in the hope that migration for Haitians can become an option and not an obligation.

Mexico remains fully committed to supporting Haitian people and recover the most luminous episodes of our shared history that have been inscribed in Haiti and as Toussaint Louverture proclaimed more than two hundred years ago: “In the face of injustice, silence is never an option” but the power of speaking out must be matched by the responsibility to bring real change.

Thank you very much.