The Dominican government did not participate in the high level Caricom-US-Mexico meeting in Kingston, Jamaica for national security reasons. The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and receives in full the impact of the violence now affecting the poorest nation in the Americas. In years back, despite the DR having a free trade agreement with Caricom, the organization had not accepted the Dominican Republic being a full member of the organization.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations issued the following statement after the high-level Caricom meeting on Haiti on Monday, 11 March 2024:
“For the Dominican Republic, the political and social stability of Haiti is a matter of national security. We consider it essential that any transition agreement in Haiti facilitate the deployment of a Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti (MSS), as authorized by resolutions 2699 (2023) and 2700 (2023) of the United Nations Security Council United.
For more than three years, the Dominican Government has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community to the multidimensional crisis in Haiti, highlighting that the deterioration of security had reached alarming levels. This is an unprecedented crisis, exacerbated by the lack of institutions, violence and the delay in an international response.
Given our history and shared island neighborhood, the Dominican Government wishes to reiterate that it cannot and should not get involved in internal decisions that belong exclusively to the Haitian people.
The Dominican Republic absolutely firmly supports resolutions 2645 (2022), 2653 (2022), 2692 (2023), 2699 (2023) and 2700 (2023) of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and demands their full compliance. It is crucial that the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti is finally deployed as soon as possible, for which it is essential that the promised funds be disbursed immediately.
The transition process in Haiti should include the most significant and representative voices of the Haitian people who are distinguished by their ethical and moral integrity. Above all, it must avoid any course of action that contravenes or impedes the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.
It is necessary for the international community to support the formation of a new government that represents the Haitian will and that is supported by the outgoing government to ensure its legitimacy.
It is important to guarantee that any transition process adheres to respect for human rights, popular will and the reestablishment of a basic institutional framework.
The Dominican Republic reaffirms its commitment to continue actively collaborating, within its possibilities, for the benefit of the stability, peace and security of the Haitian people. To achieve these objectives, the deployment of the Multinational Mission is essential. The Haitian people cannot wait another day!”
In remarks on Monday, 11 March 2024 during the weekly press conference, President Luis Abinader expanded on the Dominican position:
“Five weeks ago, when we said [before the UN] that Haiti was on the brink of the abyss, we were told both internationally and locally that we were exaggerating and, unfortunately, given the circumstances and what is happening, I believe we fell short. Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, I have been warning the international community, and we cannot do more,” said President Abinader.
“The only thing that concerns me and what I am doing is to protect the Dominican Republic and we are protecting it and we are going to continue protecting it and we are going to take whatever measures are necessary to protect it more and if the international community does not act, we are going to continue putting and continue taking positions. May later they not complain about the actions that we are going to have to take because our task is to protect the Dominican Republic and we will continue to do so,” said Abinader.
During the 11 May 2024 press conference, President Abinader welcomed the participation of El Salvador peace-keeping forces in the UN-approved mission to Haiti. “I hope they are part of the mission. The more countries that are in the mission the better,” he said.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Foreign Relations
La Semanal – minute 20
La Semanal Minute 26.
Listin Diario
12 March 2024