FA transitional presidential council has been created to find a way out of the state and security crisis in Haiti. A corresponding decree appeared in the Caribbean state's official gazette on Friday. The council will appoint a new interim government and pave the way for Haiti's first elections since 2016. This was announced a month earlier after a meeting of the Caribbean Community Caricom in Jamaica, which was also attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who did not return from a trip abroad at the end of February because of the security situation in Haiti, said he would resign if the Council stood. This should consist of nine representatives from various parties, civil society groups and business – seven of whom are entitled to vote.
The violence by armed groups, which, according to the UN, already controlled around 80 percent of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, escalated again at the end of February. Police stations, government facilities and other buildings were attacked and thousands of prisoners were freed from prisons.
The humanitarian situation remains dramatic
According to a report by the UN Human Rights Office (as of the end of March), more than 1,500 people have been killed, and the number of kidnappings and rapes has also increased. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 95,000 people were expelled from the greater Port-au-Prince area within a month. The existing hunger crisis has worsened and the humanitarian situation is dramatic.
Henry took over the reins of government shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The office of president and thus head of state has not yet been filled, and there is no longer a parliament. A multinational security mission approved by the UN Security Council in October to support the Haitian police against the gangs has not yet materialized.