Santo Domingo—The president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, will oversee the signing ceremony of the National Pact for the formulation and execution of State policies to confront the situation in Haiti, the Presidency reported on Wednesday night.
The signing of the pact occurs at a time when there is no solution in sight to the conflict between the Dominican Republic and Haiti over the construction of a canal on the Haitian side. The canal aims to take water from the Masacre River, which is shared by the two nations.
The event is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the Green Room of the National Palace.
The Presidency did not provide information on the entities and officials attending the event.
The crisis:
Since September 12, President Abinader has implemented measures against Haiti to halt the construction of the canal. These measures include the temporary closure of the border, which became official on September 15. The President also called for the suspension of visa issuance to Haitian citizens and banned flights from Haiti.
The closure of the border was ordered by sea, land, and air.
Haiti’s reaction:
In response to these measures, Haiti continued the construction of the canal, arguing that they had the right to use the tributary. Haitian Prime Minister, Henry Ariel, defended the decision at the United Nations General Assembly (UN).
After weeks of tension, the Dominican government decided to open the border in the commercial zone to allow the holding of binational markets. However, Haitians have chosen not to participate in these markets. They only crossed the Dajabón crossing one day to pick up their merchandise.
The Haitian Government has not officially commented on this matter but has kept its border gates closed. Unofficial information suggests that they will not resume commercial exchange until the Dominican Republic “respects Haiti” and accepts the construction of the canal. They are actively seeking alternative markets for their products, even exploring flights to Nicaragua.
On the Dominican side, the Government is providing financial assistance to producers and merchants in the border area. However, they are experiencing significant losses without the Haitian market.
Role of the OAS and the UN:
During the UN meeting, it was approved that a multinational force would intervene in Haiti as requested by the Government. Kenya was initially chosen as the leading country for this force, but the initiative has been recently rejected.
Meanwhile, the Organization of American States (OAS) sent a mission to the Dominican Republic to assess the situation on the border. However, Haiti refused to allow the mission to visit its territory and requested another delegation.