The U.S. State Department has not been idle about what is happening in Haiti, particularly at the level of the Conseil Présidentiel de transition (CPT), which has just adopted a resolution concerning the rotating presidency and the majority of 5 members out of the 7 voting members during the adoption of major decisions at CPT level.
With regard the selection of the CPT coordinator: the US State Department welcomes “the progress made within the CPT”.
“[…]Progress toward finalizing Haiti’s full transitional government ultimately means progress toward free and fair elections, giving the Haitian people the opportunity to choose their leaders for the first time in years,” a State Department spokesperson told CaribbeanTelevisionNetwork.
Since the establishment of the “Conseil Présidentiel de Transition”, the sectors that have delegated representatives to the body have struggled to reach agreement on the mode of operation and the sharing of responsibilities.
A majority of 4 members appointed the representative of the January 30, 2023 Accord as President of the Council, and Fritz Bélizaire as Prime Minister. This provoked discontent among the other voting members, who denounced the failure to respect the agreements that had led to the creation of the CPT.
After weeks of negotiations, they finally reached a consensus on a rotating presidency and a qualified majority of 5/7 when adopting the major decisions of the Transitional Presidential Council.
As for the disagreements within the Cpt, the State Department expressed its support for the various voices within the council and warned against efforts that could “undermine the collaborative spirit of the agreements reached in Kingston and on April 3.”
Welcoming US efforts to facilitate a solution to the political crisis and to stabilize the security situation while guiding the country towards elections, this State Department spokesman drew attention to the need for this new transition to lead to the holding of general elections and the improvement of the political and security situation in Haiti, which has been facing an unprecedented crisis for several years.
“The Cpt is a historic compromise that will enable us to overcome several years of political deadlock. The role of this body is to work together to stabilize the security situation and govern temporarily while guiding the country towards elections”, warned the spokesman in an interview with CTN.
He encouraged all parties concerned to remain committed to the Cpt’s mission and to respect the principles of “inclusion, integrity, peacemaking and orderly transition of power”, as agreed in Kingston on March 11, 2024.
Asked to comment on the former majority group’s proposal to designate Fritz Bélizaire as prime minister of the transition, the State Department spokesman said he “understands that decisions regarding an interim prime minister are not yet final and that conversations are ongoing . I refer you to the Cpt for more details”, he said.
The American official reiterated his country’s commitment to continue supporting Haiti’s stabilization process.
For several weeks now, American military aircraft have been landing in Haiti all day long.
The Department of Defense is busy building the infrastructure to house the soldiers of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMS), due to be deployed in Haiti at the end of May.
Work is also underway in the vicinity of Toussaint Louverture airport to facilitate the resumption of commercial flights.
At a round table in Washington a few weeks ago, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols announced an increase in the US contribution to Mmas.
An envelope of $300 million has been allocated to the MMS. This contribution will be more in kind than in cash. Only 6 million dollars have been contributed by the United States to the basket fund managed by the United Nations on behalf of the Multinational Security Mission, as Brian Nichols announced during the round-table discussion attended by a CTN journalist.