Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar, has welcomed the July 4, 2017, establishment of a Parliamentary Front in Haiti, where leaders of all political affiliations have agreed to consolidate their efforts to support a single national fight against hunger.
In total, 74 parliamentarians from diverse political parties voted for the resolution, automatically becoming members.
Minister Caesar is sub-coordinator for the Caribbean on the executive committee of Parliamentary Front against hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean. He said it is the first time in the history of the fight against hunger in Haiti that an expressed single non-partisan approach has been adopted.
In the aftermath of the 2016 passage of Hurricane Matthew, Caesar led an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) delegation to hurricane ravaged Haiti and during that mission, the concept of the Parliamentary Front was suggested by Caesar.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has worked with countries around the world to establish parliamentary fronts against hunger. The aim being for both government and opposition, through a bipartisan parliamentary motion, through a joint political will to express a commitment to reduce hunger to zero.
The commitment of the Haitian legislators is to provide the country with better capacities and greater political coordination, aimed at implementing actions to ensure the right to adequate food.
In 2015 St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the first English-speaking country in the world to establish a parliamentary front. The Dominican Republic was the first Spanish-speaking Caribbean to establish the front, while Haiti is the first French-speaking Caribbean nation to do so.
Caesar encouraged all member states of the CARICOM to form Parliamentary Fronts.
