PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Canada will coordinate an aid operation to Haiti this summer in response to the Caribbean nation’s volatile security, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday, while announcing fresh sanctions against a former politician and a famous singer.
Canada will lead the effort from the Dominican Republic, Joly told a ministerial meeting, in a bid to coordinate international aid including funds, equipment and technical support for the country’s embattled police force.
Joly did not say why Canada would work out of the neighboring country, which has deported tens of thousands of Haitians fleeing the crisis, but said a team would also work from Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince.
Canada will also donate a further $13 million to United Nations security and anti-corruption projects, she added.
“The situation on the ground is extremely fragile and the needs are immense – they go beyond Canada’s or any other country’s capacity to address them alone,” Joly said, stressing the need for urgent, well-coordinated support.
Haiti’s caretaker government has since October requested an international force help its police fight powerful and heavily armed gangs who control large parts of the country, fueling a humanitarian crisis that has displaced tens of thousands.
The United States has pushed Ottawa to take a leading role, but countries have been wary of sending troops in support of the unelected government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has in turn said security must be established to hold credible elections.
At talks with Haitian civil society representatives this week, Henry said he would look to widen the composition of the country’s transition council with a view to making the government more inclusive.
Joly also announced sanctions on Thursday against Gracia Delva, a famous Compas musician and former senator, and Prophane Victor, a former deputy.
Victor has been accused of providing support to a gang in the Artibonite region, which he represented politically, but has denied the allegations.
Joly did not give specific reasons for the new sanctions, which brings Canada’s list of targets – members of Haiti’s political and business elite – to 21.
Earlier this month, the United States launched a travel ban against former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, also sanctioned by Canada, citing the alleged misappropriation of Venezuelan funds intended to rebuild from the catastrophic 2010 earthquake.
(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
