On Friday, June 27, the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded its 55th General Assembly, held this week (June 25-27) in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda.

Member states addressed, among other items, the crisis in Haiti and approved the resolution "Calling for Concrete Solutions to be brought to bear as a Matter of Urgency to Resolve the Grave Security and Institutional Crisis in Haiti," calling for effective coordination of inter-American and international cooperation to "respond coherently and sustainably to the major challenges facing the Haitian people." It also calls on member States to redouble their efforts to urgently implement concrete and effective solutions to the security, political, and humanitarian crisis in Haiti and to support the efforts of the Haitian authorities to restore public order, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and create the conditions for free and fair elections.

Download the full text of the resolution (5-page English docx): https://haitilibre.com/docs/AG09482E08.docx

The OAS urged member states "o commit to strengthening the operational and institutional capacity of the Haitian national security forces through material and in-kind contributions, via existing mechanisms, including the Security Efforts and Comprehensive Unified Response for a Resilient Society in Haiti (SECURE-Haiti) program."

The resolution instructs the OAS Secretary General to prepare, within 45 days, "a consolidated Action Plan concerning the support by the OAS to Haitian authorities in matters of multidimensional security, humanitarian assistance, building political consensus and holding free and fair elections, detailing available structures, existing mandates, timetables, funding requirements, performance indicators, and priority development strategies addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality, unemployment, and crime in Haiti."

It is unclear whether, beyond mere words, this resolution will meet Trump's expectations in terms of commitment. Let's recall that during his address from the podium on June 26, Under Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the OAS General Assembly reiterated that President Trump had instructed the Secretary of State to review, within six months, all international organizations to which the United States belongs, to determine whether membership is in the United States' interest and whether these organizations can be reformed. Following this review, the Secretary of State is to report his findings to the President and recommend whether the United States should withdraw from any of these organizations. This review is ongoing, and the OAS is obviously one of the organizations we are reviewing.

To be quite frank, and I’m a very frank person, I’m not sure I can predict how that review will turn out. That’s certainly something I’m open to discussing at this meeting so no one can say they’re surprised.

[...] Let’s look at some of the relevant cases. Last year, the entire world witnessed a brazenly stolen election in Venezuela. The opposition not only won overwhelmingly, but had the evidence to prove it – the “actas.” The regime didn’t even bother seriously to dispute the validity of the “actas” or the electoral fraud. In response to that brazen electoral fraud, what has this organization done? As far as we can tell, nothing of substance.

If this organization is unwilling or unable to respond to or remedy this situation, where a regime openly thumbs its nose at international norms and threatens the territorial integrity of its neighbor, then we must ask what’s the point of the organization.

Similarly disheartening is the ongoing crisis in Haiti.. Armed gangs control the streets and ports of the capital city, and public order there has all but collapsed. While Haiti descends into chaos, the unfolding humanitarian, security, and governance crisis reverberates across the region. And again, what has this organization done ? Right now, a basic modicum of security is provided by a Kenyan-led multilateral force blessed by the UN. The United States has committed almost a billion dollars to this force. We commend the deployment of security force personnel and other contributions from some of the nations represented in this room that made the mission possible, but the United States cannot continue shouldering this heavy financial burden.

That’s why the United States welcomes a role for the OAS in responding to the political crisis in Haiti. Again, if the OAS is unwilling or unable to play a constructive role in Haiti, then we must seriously ask ourselves why the OAS exists.

And just let me be clear : Secretary Rubio and I have to be able to tell our President and our people that our substantial investment in this organization benefits our country. I’m not sure that we’re in a position to do that right now [...]."

Colleagues, this is not a time for mere words and slogans about hemispheric solidarity. It’s time for the OAS to show results. Let’s stand with the people of Venezuela and Haiti not just in word but in deed [...] We’d like this organization to be part of the solution, not the problem, and look forward to constructive engagement over the next two days and beyond."

SL/ HaitiLibre