00:00The Secretary-General of CARICOM called on the regional body to continue to give its support to Haiti
00:05as she highlighted CARICOM's support for Palestine.
00:09Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett made the declaration during the opening ceremony
00:14of the 48th regular meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in Barbados this evening.
00:20We continue a unified advocacy and unwavering support and assistance to our sister member state Haiti
00:27in the struggle to obtain peace and security.
00:31Millions of Haitians are unable to live free from rampant violence
00:35which stands in the way of economic development and of access to basic education and health
00:43especially impacting on women and children.
00:47Our collective stand for territorial integrity and the rule of law
00:52is demonstrated in respect of our member states Guyana and Belize
00:58and the state of Palestine which all of our 14 independent member states now recognize.
01:06Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is in Barbados attending the meeting
01:10as he is set to resign as this country's head of government ahead of the general election due later this year.
01:16The CARICOM Secretary-General said
01:19CARICOM is willing to provide election observer assistance to all member states holding elections this year.
01:27This exercise of democracy and peaceful transfer of power
01:31is integral to the tradition and principles of strong governance and the rule of law
01:37by which CARICOM member states firmly stand.
01:40Where this is threatened, CARICOM's good offices processes are available to assist
01:46and ensure that good governance practices prevail.
01:49The CARICOM Secretariat organizes electoral observation missions when these are requested
01:54as has already happened for some of the elections to be held this year.
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