US Ambassador to the United Nations Reiterates US Support for Haiti and Guyana

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has reiterated Washington’s commitment to ensuring peace and security in Haiti.

US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, during interview in Guyana (CMC Photo)“The government of Haiti, asked through the UN Security Council for a multi national force to provide security and deal with the insecurity …really that has been imposed on Haitian people and we have been working closely in the Security Council initially to get a resolution that gave a mandate to that multi-national force. The Canadian government stepped up and we have been working to get support for the multi-national force,” said Thomas-Greenfield, who is heading a US delegation to the ongoing CARICOM summit here.

She told the online radio station News Sauce that US Secretary Anthony Blinken had met with foreign affairs ministers from the G20 countries last week in Brazil “where we encouraged countries to contribute”.

She said Canada has announced a contribution of nearly 100 million dollars (One Canada dollar=US$0.74 cents) and that other countries have also stepped up , not only with money but with troops.

Last month, the Kenya High Court ruled against sending troops to Haiti as part of the MSS to restore peace and security in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, where criminal  gangs continue to threaten public order.

Last October, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of the MSS to back Haiti’s beleaguered police force, which Kenya offered to lead. A 2022 sanctions regime, targeting gang leaders and their financiers, was also renewed.

Earlier this month, President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, urged the international community to do more to help deal with the security, political and economic situation in Haiti.

Thomas-Greenfield told radio listeners that what she has seen among CARICOM countries with regards to Haiti “is a commitment to partnering a way forward in Haiti.

“I think they are doing everything they can to address the issue. Some countries have contributed troops. Guyana has contributed humanitarian assistance and others are contributing what they can.

“But they are all concerned about the impact of the insecurity in Haiti on their own countries and they are all committed to finding a path forward for peace and security for the haitian people,” she said, adding it is ongoing work “as we speak”.

During her interview the US diplomat also discussed the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, reiterating her country’s support for Georgetown.

The two countries have an ongoing territorial dispute over the ownership of the Essequibo region, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of the country’s 800,000 citizens.

Both Guyana and Venezuela have made presentations to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) relating to the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the border between Venezuela and the then-British Guiana, confirmed as legally enforceable.

Last December, Guyana and Venezuela’s leaders ended a meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines agreeing “directly or indirectly” not to threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances, as they continue to seek a resolution to the border dispute between them.

The Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela,  also indicated that the two countries agreed that “any controversies” between them will be resolved in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Agreement dated Feb. 17, 1966.

“We have been clear on this issue that we support Guyana’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty and we support the agreement on the divisions of the border that was made in the 1800s. Unless and until another authority makes a decision that that border is not acceptable.

“So, we have supported the ICJ taking on this initiative and we have been clear to President Ali and to the people of Guyana that their territorial integrity and their sovereignty are supported by the United States”, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said.

In the last few months, there have been several top US government and US military officials have visited Guyana.

Asked whether those visits may be setting the stage for the possible establishment of a US military base in Guyana, the US Ambassador  said there have been no discussions on that issue and she is unaware of any such possibility.

“It is not something that I am aware of, its not something that I’m aware that Guyana has requested, but part of the reason we are all visiting Guyana is because you are on the international stage now.

“Guyana is on the Security Council and as we speak, Guyana is President of the Security Council, and that gives them an international and global perch that they have not had previously, at least for a very very long time, and so part of my reason for being here, in addition to the CARICOM meeting was to have discussions with President Ali and his administration on how we can partner on the Security Council”, she said.