On Wednesday 13 March, the European Commission announced that it would be funding €20 million in emergency aid for Haiti to support humanitarian organisations in protecting the population, food assistance, healthcare and, more specifically, education for children.
In Haiti, where recurrent violence by armed groups is raging (see EUROPE 13368/30), the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, resigned on Monday 11 March, following international talks that led to “a transitional governance agreement” announced by the President of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
The EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS) welcomed the “important progress” made at this crisis meeting held in Kingston, Jamaica.
“A viable, inclusive and sustainable Haitian-led political transition is the only option to put the country on a pathway to stability, where the rule of law can be restored, and the human rights of the population upheld”, said EEAS spokesman Peter Stano in a statement on Tuesday 12 March.
The EEAS stresses the importance of swiftly deploying the Multinational Security Support Mission led by Kenya and authorised by the UN Security Council last October. The aim of the mission is to provide operational support to the Haitian police and to promote conditions conducive to the holding of free elections.
In addition, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the EU will “continue supporting the broader objectives of a Multinational Support Mission, once it is deployed [...] through our cooperation instruments”.
However, on Tuesday, Kenya suspended the deployment of police officers on the grounds that the Haitian administration did not have a solid enough hold at local level, AFP reported. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)