Council: Organisation of American States

Delegation: Haiti
Name: Wesley Thng
School: St. Joseph’s Institution

As an Organisation of American States (OAS) member state, Haiti participates in the

organisation's activities and benefits from the technical assistance and cooperation
programmes provided by the OAS in areas such as elections, governance, security,
and economic development.1 This delegate believes Haiti's views on the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 1962 were aligned with the United States being against the
presence of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba. As a moderate state, Haiti understands
that the United States during the crisis was a reflection of the country's foreign policy
at that time, which sought to maintain strong ties with the U.S. by distancing herself
from communist influences.2

This delegate wants to affirm the OAS's primary purpose of promoting peaceful ties
within America and respect for sovereignty. Even though the use of military force is
an attainable solution under the mandate of the OAS, Haiti generally considers it a
last resort as we fear it could potentially escalate into a full-scale nuclear conflict.
Instead of authorising military action3, the international community, including the
OAS, focused on diplomatic negotiations and finding a peaceful resolution. Hence,
Haiti feels that the promotion of Peacekeeping troops as an emerging solution by
OAS will be attainable and feasible. The presence of neutral peacekeeping troops
can and will help de-escalate tensions and maintain stability, tying it with their
impartiality and role as intermediaries which will eventually foster an environment
incredibly contributory to dialogue and negotiation on both sides.

With the missiles imposing a threat on the United State’s regional security, Haiti
believes that a quarantine is one of the more effective ways to restrict and mitigate
anything dire that might occur. Supporters of the quarantine contended that its right
to deter the Soviet Union from escalating the crisis and to prevent the potential
exploitation of nuclear weapons. Hence, Haiti believes that the extent of the
quarantine should be discussed as it would demonstrate a strong response while
avoiding a direct military confrontation.

Additionally, there were also discussions with the United States which ultimately
includes a loan agreement to build an international airport in Haiti.4 This delegate of
1
OAS.org. (n.d.). Oas :: In depth : Article.
https://www.oas.org/en/news/in-depth_article.asp?df_sCodigo=4009
2
PHILLIP W. D. MARTIN. (1994, March 18). Perspective on refugees : Cuba, Haiti: Racism or
hypocrisy? : Cubans and Haitians arrive in the same boat but only one group is detained; U.S. policy
is dreadfully wrong. Los Angeles Times.
https://latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-17-me-34957-story.html
3
U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1961–1963,
VOLUME XI, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS AND AFTERMATH. U.S. Department of State.
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v11/d6
4
HAITI: GENERAL, SEPTEMBER 1962-FEBRUARY 1963. Haiti: General, September 1962-February 1963 | JFK
Library. (n.d.). https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKNSF/103/JFKNSF-103-003
Haiti considers the Cuban Missile Crisis creating a heightened atmosphere of
uncertainty and potential conflict in the region, leading to a significant shift in
priorities for many countries. Hence, this is not a feasible solution to move forward
with and would wish to continue with the above two proposed solutions.

All in all, this delegate strongly pushes for Haiti following the footsteps of the United
States of America (USA) and will move forward working with countries' stances that
are similarly aligned with the beliefs of the USA. By taking this into account, Haiti
wished to move forward with countries who have hopes of promoting the idea of
peacekeeping troops and discussing the idea of economic sanctions in council
sessions.

Bibliography:

1. OAS.org. (n.d.). Oas :: In depth : Article.

https://www.oas.org/en/news/in-depth_article.asp?df_sCodigo=4009
2. PHILLIP W. D. MARTIN. (1994, March 18). Perspective on refugees : Cuba, Haiti:
Racism or hypocrisy? : Cubans and Haitians arrive in the same boat but only one
group is detained; U.S. policy is dreadfully wrong. Los Angeles Times.
https://latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-17-me-34957-story.html
3. U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES,
1961–1963, VOLUME XI, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS AND AFTERMATH. U.S.
Department of State. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v11/d6
4. HAITI: GENERAL, SEPTEMBER 1962-FEBRUARY 1963. Haiti: General, September
1962-February 1963 | JFK Library. (n.d.).
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKNSF/103/JFKNSF-103-003