Good morning.
The Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale, AQOCI, is composed of 70 Quebec organizations, 34 of which have been active in Haiti for many years, and even decades. AQOCI is also an active member of Concertation pour Haïti, a group of Quebec solidarity and cooperation organizations and groups from the Haitian diaspora in Quebec.
My testimony is based on the analysis of the situation shared by the members of AQOCI and Concertation pour Haïti and, especially, by our Haitian partners.
Haiti is currently facing the exacerbation of a multidimensional crisis. Insecurity caused by armed gangs is growing. The gangs engage in extreme violence in their conflicts with members of rival groups. They commit kidnappings and cruel murders. According to the UN, the gangs use sexual violence as a weapon to terrorize the population and thus conquer territory and maintain control of it.
Almost 100,000 people have been displaced after fleeing the violence that has gripped the country since June 2021. At the end of October, the news was full of kidnappings, murders and attempted murders of politicians and media figures. The territories controlled by the gangs are constantly expanding. There are almost no neighbourhoods or regions of the capital and the area around it that are not directly or indirectly affected by the actions of the armed groups.
The explosion in the price of fuel is also a very important dimension of the current crisis. Oil is the only energy source available in Haiti. A severe shortage of gasoline has disrupted the water supply, in addition to shutting down the economy as a whole. The Haitian national police announced on Friday, November 4, that it had regained control of the most important oil terminal, which had been in the hands of armed gangs since mid-September. The supply is still problematic, however, and this continues to exacerbate the crisis.
Food insecurity is growing and is alarming. According to the UN, 4.7 million people, nearly half the population, are experiencing high levels of food insecurity, while 19,200 people are affected by the highest level of food insecurity, a first in the recent history of the country.
Humanitarian aid is not enough for Haiti, however. Cooperation and solidarity organizations are well aware of this. Haitians have to be supported in producing the food that will enable them to subsist and plan their future. At present, food production is endangered by the difficulties involved in moving about and accessing inputs.
In addition, lack of access to fuel has caused an acute shortage of drinking water, and that has led to an outbreak of cholera after more than three years with no reported cases. On Tuesday, the United Nations launched an appeal to collect $145 million to support Haiti, because 1.4 million people are living in areas that are hard hit.
On Friday, October 14, AQOCI held an emergency meeting with the member organizations of our association that are active in Haiti. A number of Haitian partners were present. They offered emotional testimony about the Haitian people's living conditions.
What I want to tell you is that every one of them is firmly opposed to an armed foreign intervention in their country. They believe a Haitian solution to a Haitian crisis is needed. For that reason, Canada must strengthen its position of not sending an international force to Haiti and persuade the UN and other countries that are still tempted to choose that solution...