(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Georgetown, Guyana) – The Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) welcome the news today of the publication of the decree establishing the Transitional Presidential Council in Haiti. The establishment of the nine-member broad-based, politically inclusive Council signals the possibility of a new beginning for Haiti.

CARICOM has supported Haiti, its sister nation, through the challenging process of arriving at a Haitian owned formula for governance that will take the troubled country through elections to the restoration of the lapsed state institutions and constitutional government. Following on from the agreements reached in Kingston, Jamaica, on 11 March, which brought together a diverse group of Haitian political, private sector, civil society and faith-based stakeholders, the Transitional Presidential Council has devised a framework setting out the creation, organization and functioning of the Council, and arrived at a Political Accord that articulates the way forward.

The CARICOM Heads of Government fully endorse the principles of the Political Accord, and in particular take note of Article 16 which states, “The mission of the Presidential Council is to put Haiti back on the road to dignity, democratic legitimacy, stability and sovereignty and to ensure the proper functioning of the State’s institutions”.

It is also clear that one of the first priorities of the newly installed Presidential Council will be to urgently address the security situation so that Haitians can go about their daily lives in a normal manner; safely access food, water and medical services; children can return to school; women can move around without fear of horrific abuses; and so that businesses can reopen.

There are still daunting challenges ahead. CARICOM stands ready to continue to support the Haitian people and their leaders as they determine their future in a sovereign manner through this transitional period on the path to stability, security and long-term sustainable development for Haiti.