A coalition of Haitian civil society organizations convened in Port-au-Prince in June 2019 to call for urgent national dialogue as the country’s political stalemate entered its fifth month with no resolution in sight. Religious leaders, business associations, women’s groups, and community organizations signed a joint declaration urging President Moïse and opposition leaders to set aside their differences and engage in good-faith negotiations.
The declaration warned that Haiti was approaching a tipping point and that continued paralysis would have catastrophic consequences for the economy, social services, and the welfare of ordinary citizens. Church leaders, including representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, offered to serve as mediators in any dialogue process.
The business community, already reeling from months of disruption, added its voice to calls for a negotiated solution. The Chamber of Commerce estimated that the economic cost of the ongoing crisis ran into hundreds of millions of dollars in lost trade, investment, and productivity.
Despite widespread appeals, the two sides remained far apart. The opposition insisted on Moïse’s resignation as a precondition for any talks, while the president’s office maintained that elections, not a transitional government, were the only constitutional path forward.