The 15-nation bloc announced the effort to bring together the groups they have been working with in recent years in the past week, noting that the three-person Eminent Persons Group (EPG) will coordinate the meetings on behalf of the governments. The group comprises former prime minister Kenny Anthony of St. Lucia, Perry Christie of The Bahamas, and Bruce Golding of Jamaica.
The bloc announcement stated that “the views of the stakeholders would be of importance when the CARICOM heads of government meet in a conference in Jamaica, in early July 2025, to discuss regional issues on their agenda, amongst, which are the situation in Haiti and CARICOM’s continued support for the Haitian people and country.”
The EPG team was the main front group for CARICOM in the past year, coordinating a series of meetings with various Haitian collectives in Jamaica and on the ground in Haiti.
The team has been working with the Haitians to organize fresh elections early next year. However, continued clashes between heavily armed rebels seeking to destabilize the interim administration have stymied efforts to keep the deadline.
Regional leaders had last year worked with the United Nations, and other countries to establish the provisional transitional council that was set up to try to stabilize the political, economic, and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country. Haiti is the bloc’s most populous member state.
CARICOM said that EPG “has also been contributing to the advocacy on behalf of Haiti being carried out by CARICOM heads of government. Its views on the situation have also been sought by international partners, as has its participation in recent international and regional meetings on the Haiti crisis.”
The regional summit will be held in the Montego Bay resort town from July 6 to 8, with Prime Minister Andrew Holness taking over the rotating chair from Mia Mottley of Barbados.