Six months after the International Labour Organization (ILO) shifted oversight of its Haiti engagement to the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, a senior ILO delegation has arrived in Haiti for the body’s first official visit to the Caribbean nation under the new regional mandate.
Led by Joni Musabayana, director of the Caribbean-based ILO office, and joined by Senior Programming Officer Ingerlyn Caines-Francis, the five-day mission kicked off on June 30, 2026. This visit ushers in a new chapter of collaboration between the ILO and Haiti’s tripartite stakeholders — the national government, employer associations, and labor union representatives — following months of preliminary consultations and joint planning to align on shared national priorities.
The on-the-ground mission comes just over one month after the ILO and Haitian partners signed the landmark 2026-2027 ILO Country Programme for Haiti during a May 14 ceremony in Port of Spain. The two-year framework formalizes the ILO’s technical cooperation commitments to Haiti, and the organization notes the early launch of implementation activities demonstrates its dedication to turning agreed plans into tangible progress alongside Haitian stakeholders. The agreement was signed by all key parties: Haiti’s Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Marc Elie Nelson signed on behalf of the Haitian government; Association of Industries of Haiti (ADIH) President Maulik Radia represented national employers; Yvel Admettre, Secretary General of the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers, and Louis Fignole St Cyr, General Secretary of the Autonomous Central of Haitian Workers, signed for Haitian labor organizations; and Musabayana executed the agreement for the ILO.
The country programme outlines five core focus areas for ILO support in Haiti: strengthening inclusive social dialogue and upholding fundamental workers’ rights, building the capacity of national labor institutions and improving governance of the employment sector, expanding productive employment opportunities to drive national economic recovery, bolstering vulnerable household livelihoods, and expanding access to social protection while advancing safer working conditions across all industries.
In remarks ahead of the mission, Musabayana emphasized that the ILO’s top priority is immediate implementation of the commitments laid out in the May programme agreement. “This mission is about moving quickly from agreement to action. Haiti’s tripartite partners have worked with commitment and clarity to define shared priorities for decent work,” Musabayana said. “Today’s discussions confirmed the importance of staying close to workers, employers and institutions on the ground as we support implementation of the country programme. The ILO Caribbean Office is committed to working with Haiti’s constituents through practical technical assistance, social dialogue and partnership.”
Beyond launching new development projects, Musabayana noted that the visit is also intended to deepen long-term collaborative ties between the regional ILO office and national partners across Haiti. “It is important for us to be here, so that the ILO Caribbean Office can deepen its understanding of the realities facing constituents and give effect to our commitment to work with our Haitian partners in a spirit of mutual respect and shared responsibility,” he added.
According to the ILO’s official updates, during the first two days of the mission, the delegation held working meetings with government officials, private sector leaders, and trade union representatives in northern Haiti. Core discussion topics included mapping the country’s most pressing decent work priorities, identifying pathways to strengthen cross-stakeholder cooperation, and outlining practical steps to expand effective social dialogue in industries that serve as the backbone of Haiti’s employment, economic activity, and household livelihoods.
The delegation also conducted site visits to a number of active work places across northern Haiti, allowing ILO officials to gather first-hand insight into the current challenges and opportunities facing Haiti’s industrial and employment sectors. During these on-the-ground visits, the team reviewed existing development initiatives, and explored how enhanced tripartite dialogue between employers, workers, and public institutions can improve workplace relations, build mutual trust, and foster greater economic and labor stability across the country.
The transfer of Haiti oversight to the ILO Caribbean Office took effect in January 2026, expanding the office’s mandate to cover 14 ILO member states and nine non-metropolitan territories across the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. The ILO notes that the broader mandate is designed to streamline regional coordination and deliver more timely, responsive technical support to Haiti and other Caribbean partner nations.
The Haiti mission is scheduled to conclude on July 4, 2026, and will include additional working meetings with tripartite stakeholders and visits to ongoing ILO-supported development projects across the country. Citing ongoing national security concerns, the ILO has declined to disclose specific locations of mission activities to protect the safety of delegates and local partners.
Moving forward, the ILO reaffirmed that its work in Haiti will remain rooted in its core global mandate: advancing decent work and social justice through tripartite cooperation between governments, employers, and workers. Under the new country programme, the organization will continue to support Haiti’s national efforts to strengthen labor institutions, expand social protection coverage, create inclusive employment opportunities, boost livelihoods, and advance productive social dialogue aligned with Haiti’s long-term national development priorities.