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Ms President, Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

Certainly, the situation in Haiti is as many of you have described in your interventions.

In recent months, kidnappings for ransom, attacks by criminal gangs against the rivals of the neighbourhoods, widespread insecurity have increased in Haiti in a context of almost total impunity.

In parallel, political tensions are resurfacing due to –once again- disputes over the timing and scope of a referendum on constitutional reform and of the elections proposed by the government. This electoral process has created a lot of trouble and increased political tensions.

We, at the European Union, we have been following with a lot of attention and concern the current political and social crisis and its negative effects on the security situations on everyday lives of the Haitians. Certainly, the persistent insecurity, growing poverty and structural inequalities in Haiti, together with increasing political tensions, may lead to a pattern of public discontent that will be followed by violent police repression and other human rights violations.

It is very much worrying to observe an increasing radicalisation of political stances, the worsening humanitarian crisis and the increase in gang-related violence with a high numbers of killings in poor neighbourhoods of the capital. We have urged the authorities to conduct the effective and thorough investigations into these crimes.

The European Union has called for an inclusive political dialogue between all the forces of Haiti in order to find an agreement on the conditions necessary for the organisation of such credible and democratic elections that will meet the aspirations of the people.

Unhappily, we announced, on 6 May 2021, that the European Union would neither finance nor send observers for the referendum on the new Constitution.

Regarding that situation, it is essential the authorities provide safety and security for their citizens while respecting the rule of law and international human rights principles, which are crucial for Haiti’s stability and development.

We will keep monitoring developments in Haiti and we need to insist on the need to respect rule of law and human rights.

The European Union stands by the population, but the political class and the Government need to understand that they have to become serious about basic economic and social reforms, if they want to count on our continued support.

In this context, the time is ripe for the development of a wider scale of European Union public diplomacy in the field of human rights in Haiti, in accordance with the principles of the Post-Cotonou Agreement and the European Union’s global human rights global strategy for 2020-2024.

Thank you very much for your contribution through your debate and resolutions.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-205809