ST JAMES, Jamaica — Caribbean Community (Caricom) Chair, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has made it clear that while international momentum to support Haiti has slowed, Caricom must intensify efforts to get the support needed for the neighbouring country which is grappling with a security crisis.

“We cannot be true to our principles in Caricom if we do not redouble our efforts in the international community to garner support for the mission in Haiti. We cannot leave our brothers and sisters in Haiti at the mercy of gangs,” entreated Holness.

He was addressing the opening ceremony of the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. The ceremony was held on Sunday at the Montego Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James.

Holness noted that Jamaica was one of the first countries to give a commitment to Haiti and, in so doing, made a call for others to provide support.

Last September, Jamaica sent 20 members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and four from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to assist with restoring order in Haiti. Kenya also sent a security mission.

On Sunday evening, Holness said Haiti and the mobilisation of international support for the security efforts in that country will be another area of significant effort and priority for Caricom under his chairmanship, which began on July 1, 2025 and will last for six months.

In making his point about the impact gangs are having on Haiti and other countries within the region, he pointed to a July 2024 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, entitled “Drugs, firearms, and gang networks in Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago”.

“We must dismantle the influence of gangs in our communities, disrupt their financing and cut off access to weapons,” he said to a round of applause.

“I am on record as saying that we need to launch a war on gangs of a similar magnitude and nature to the war on terror,” added Holness.

He called for the issue to be treated as a national security threat and a public health emergency. In making his point, he noted that 90 per cent of homicide perpetrators and victims are male.

Pointing to the need for regional cooperation, Holness has promised that the issue of security will be a priority during his leadership of the Caribbean Community.

In her address during the opening ceremony, outgoing Caricom chair and Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley expressed disappointment at the level of international support provided to Haiti to date.

She said the country’s stability had been a major concern of Caricom over the past six months.

“The world, really, needs a check on itself when it comes to Haiti. If ever we doubted that there were first-class and second-class citizens in the eyes of the world, don’t doubt it anymore,” said Mottley, who has earned a reputation for being frank in her pronouncements on matters of regional importance.

She argued that last year more people were killed in Haiti than in any other country on earth, including those at war and the subject of military conflict. Despite this, she said, the world was unable to move beyond promises and platitudes that would bring help to the people of Haiti.

Mottley noted that Caribbean countries’ support is limited by their size and financial capacity, and while Kenya is assisting, more help is needed, especially in machinery.