LESSONS FROM HAITI'S CRISIS
Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
April 25, 2004
THERE is much merit in the call by Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, Edwin Carrington, for CARICOM governments to elevate the Community's `Charter for Civil Society’ to an obligatory, enforceable instrument for improved governance.
It is now seven years since Heads of Government signed the Charter and recommended implementation of its provisions that address significant issues of fundamental rights, good governance, participation in the economy as well as the rights and responsibilities of the people themselves.
But the Charter has remained more of a declaration of intent, an instrument that exhorts rather than one that has legislative endorsement for binding obligations.
This serious weakness became quite evident with the governance crisis in Haiti when CARICOM leaders were left to merely caution then President Jean Bertrand Aristide about likely sanctions within the framework of the Charter for Civil Society, while being aware that no punitive action could in fact be implemented with any certainty of sustainability.
It was one of the lessons to be learnt from the Haitian crisis. And In making his call to give some teeth to the Charter, Secretary General Carrington also urged consideration for introducing an "ombudsman role" in the conduct of good governance in the Community.
Speaking at the just-concluded Barbados meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), he argued that if such initiatives---upgrading of the Charter and the ombudsman role---were exercised, then CARICOM may, ironically, have to thank Haiti for citing its crises situations to become more effective in Community governance.
There is, of course, another very relevant lesson to be learnt from the Haitian situation that Carrington did not specifically mention though alluded to in previous comments.
Dangerous Precedent
It is the dangerous precedent of forcing a democratically elected President and his government out of power by an armed rebellion.
Problems were further compounded when the Prime Minister of an interim regime in Port-au-Prince, hastily put in place following the ousting of the Aristide presidency, engaged in disparaging comments about the Community for its failure to extend recognition to his administration.
There are member states of CARICOM, Guyana being one, that know only too well of the dangers in extending legitimacy to those who choose to resort to armed rebellion, killings, political violence and general lawlessness in seeking "regime change" with the removal of legitimate, freely-elected governments.
Such forces cannot and must not be rewarded. Unless, of course, making a mockery of the rule of law and democratic governance should now evolve as a new CARICOM policy.
Maintaining Haiti's membership within CARICOM and providing practical forms of assistance to the poor, exploited mass of Haitians, should not be confused with a firm stand against sanctioning political coups and being in bed with those who have so unwisely embraced armed rebels and murderers as "liberators" and "freedom fighters".
This is also a lesson we need to bear in mind as we seek how best to deal with developments in Haiti and improve our own governance system in CARICOM--including the upgrading of the Charter for Civil Society.