CARICOM Secretary General Joins Delegation to Haiti Ahead of Elections
CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett is participating in a four-day inter-institutional delegation to Haiti led by the Organization of American States (OAS), running from August 16 to 19, aimed at supporting Haitian-led efforts to restore stability, strengthen democratic governance, and advance credible elections.
The mission brings together CARICOM, Haitian institutions, and international partners, with the delegation led by OAS Secretary-General Albert R. Ramdin alongside Barnett.
Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Raina Forbin, welcomed the delegation on arrival, with Defense Minister Mario Andresol and Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) President Jacques Desrosiers also present.
Representatives from partner institutions across the inter-American system and the United Nations are taking part, including the Inter-American Development Bank and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), reflecting the breadth of coordination behind the visit.
#CARICOM Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett is participating in an inter-institutional delegation to Haiti led by the Organisation of American States. The four-day Mission brings together CARICOM, Haitian Institutions, and international partners, and focuses on political… pic.twitter.com/af2zIZWllX
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The mission’s agenda centers on political dialogue, security and capacity building, elections, human security and investment, and recovery, a scope intended to address Haiti’s crisis on multiple fronts simultaneously rather than through security members alone.
As part of the visit, Haiti’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Serge Gabriel Collin, signed an agreement integrating Haiti into CAF development bank, one of several concrete steps expected during the delegation’s stay. Barnett’s participation continues a pattern of deep CARICOM involvement in Haiti’s transition.
The CARICOM Eminent Persons Group, former Prime Ministers Kenny Anthony, Bruce Golding and Perry Christle, has worked for months to facilitate the dialogue among Haitian political and civil society actors, while CARICOM has backed implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution establishing a Gang Suppression Force ahead of national elections planned for August 2026.
The visit comes as Haiti works toward the elections that will follow the expiration of its Transnational Presidential Council’s mandate earlier this year, a process CARICOM and the OAS have both flagged as central to the country’s path back to stable and democratic governance.
With security, financing, and institutional coordination all still in motion, this week’s mission is widely seen as an effort to keep that timeline on track ahead of the vote.
The four-day mission underscores how closely CARICOM has aligned itself with the OAS and international partners in backing Haiti’s transition, at a moment when elections, security gains, and economic support are all converging on a tight timeline.
Whether the coordination on display this week translates into a credible vote and lasting stability will likely become clearer as the country moves toward its planned August elections.