Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), Co-Chair of the House Haiti Caucus and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the resignation of Ambassador Dan Foote, Special Envoy for Haiti:
"I thank Ambassador Foote for his service and his heartfelt commitment to the Haitian people. While I respect his decision, I am deeply upset by the circumstances that precipitated it. I have been telling anyone who will listen since January that I believe the administration's Haiti policy is misguided. I do not think it is unfair for Ambassador Foote to characterize that policy today as "inhumane." The Haitian people are crying out for the opportunity to chart their own country's future, and the United States is ignoring their pleas. I strongly oppose these ongoing mass deportations and the administration's failure to embrace Haitian civil society's plan for a democratic transition, and I will continue to speak out until our policy moves in a much, much better direction.
"The irony here is that amidst COVID, an earthquake and the crisis around migration, there is great good news in Haiti! While it has been little reported in this country, I consider the August 30th accord calling for a Haitian Solution to the country's political crisis including a transitional government and a well-laid-out plan to restore public security and democratic self-rule to be one of the most significant developments in Haitian history in the last half century. The accord was the result of painstaking consultations and negotiations, and it has been signed by over 600 people representing a stunning array of groups in civil society, including most political parties, all three major religious streams, both business and labor, as well as legal, human rights, women's, peasants and other groups from across the nation.
"Yet for reasons I don't understand, the U.S. continues to insist on supporting – truthfully, propping up – the de facto government of Ariel Henry, which has neither a constitutional basis nor public support in Haiti or the diaspora. Now, the Biden administration has an opportunity to make good on its promise to pursue a foreign policy guided by human rights; I hope they do not forsake that opportunity."
Source:https://andylevin.house.gov/media/press-releases/levin-statement-special-envoy-haiti-dan-foote-resignation
