Caricom acknowledges hurdles in UN probe of Aristide exit
-to call for OAS meet on Haiti
Stabroek News
May 6, 2004

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Caricom leaders meeting in Antigua yesterday acknowledged "difficulties" related to their call for the UN to probe the departure of Haitian leader Jean Bertrand Aristide from office and signalled a move to the Organisation of American States (OAS) instead.

Following Aristide's exiling to the Central African Republic after an uprising and his claim that he had been forced by the US to leave Haiti against his will, Caricom had called for the United Nations to investigate the circumstances surrounding his departure from office.

Diplomatic observers had said this call was a non-starter as the United States was implacably opposed to it and therefore it would go nowhere. The US and Caricom have clashed over the regional body's refusal to recognise the interim administration installed in Haiti with Washington's blessing. This has resulted in severe diplomatic pressure being applied on Caricom leaders by Washington at recent meetings and as a result of Caricom's withholding of recognition two meetings between the region and the US have been postponed.

At the conclusion of their bureau meeting in Antigua yesterday, Caricom heads signalled a new direction. A press statement from the meeting said Caricom

is to submit a recommendation to the Chairman of the Permanent Council of the OAS to convene a meeting of that body to discuss the situation in Haiti.

The submission is with the view to invoking Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which makes provision for a collective assessment of the situation "in the event of an unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order in a Member State."

According to the press statement issued after the Seventeenth Meeting of the Bureau of the Conference of Heads, the recommendation was made following consultations with several Heads not present at the meeting.

The statement said "concerning the call for the investigation, the Heads of Government present noted the difficulties of pursuing the matter through the United Nations as initially contemplated".

It said that once the move to the OAS is consented to by all the Heads, Antigua's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Harold Lovell will convey the request on behalf of the Chairman of the Conference, Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.

The statement reiterated that at the upcoming Heads of Government meeting to be held in Grenada from July 4 to July 8 Caricom will review the admission of Haiti's Interim Administration to the councils of the community.

The Bureau and Core Group, which was present in Antigua to discuss the Haitian situation, received a report from Hugh Cholmondeley, the chief coordinator of the Caricom Task Force, regarding his participation in a meeting of the donor community in Haiti. The donor community is currently in the process of drafting an Interim Cooperation Framework aimed at coordinating developmental efforts in Haiti.

Meanwhile, the statement said the bureau was still awaiting a formal affirmative response from the Special Envoy nominated to promote Caricom's participation in international efforts to assist Haiti.

The Bureau, which comprised outgoing Chairman of Caricom, Jamaica's Prime Minister P.J Patterson; incoming Chairman, Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell; and Secretary-General Edwin Carrington, and the Core Group on Haiti noted the adoption by the UN Security Council of a resolution establishing the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, the deployment of which will start on June 1, 2004. The Bureau reiterated its commitment to take part in the efforts of the international community for the economic, social and institutional development of Haiti.

The Bureau's two-day meeting ended in Antigua yesterday afternoon.