An international force would be sent to Haiti for a year to help stop a spike in gang violence and restore security so the troubled Caribbean country could hold elections, which have been postponed for a long time. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote on this proposal on Monday.
Kenya’s offer to command the multinational security force is welcomed in the U.S.-drafted resolution that The Associated Press obtained on Saturday. It is made clear that this would be an independent army supported by donations.
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A nine-month review would follow the resolution’s one-year authorization of the deployment.
The force would be permitted to assist the underfunded and underequipped Haitian National Police, which has only around 10,000 active officers in a nation with more than 11 million inhabitants.
The resolution states that the force would assist in boosting local police capabilities. “through the planning and conduct of joint security support operations as it works to counter gangs and improve security conditions in Haiti.”
Moreover, the force would aid in securing, “critical infrastructure sites and transit locations such as the airport, ports, and key intersections.” Roads connecting Haiti’s capital with the north and south have been taken over by strong gangs, preventing the movement of food and other supplies.
If approved by the Security Council, the force would be permitted to “take urgent interim actions on an extraordinary basis” in order to avoid casualties and assist law enforcement in maintaining public safety.
Before a complete deployment, mission leaders would have to brief the council on the mission’s objectives, rules of engagement, funding requirements, and other issues.
The administration did not immediately have a statement, according to a spokeswoman for Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who claimed he was unaware of the proposal or the impending vote.
The resolution is critical, “the increasing violence, criminal activities, and human rights abuses and violations which undermine the peace, stability, and security of Haiti and the region, including kidnappings, sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants, homicides, extrajudicial killings, as well as arms smuggling.”
If approved, it would be the first time since the United Nations authorized a stability mission in June 2004 that was tainted by a sexual abuse scandal and the spread of cholera that a force has been sent to Haiti. Its mission was completed in October 2017.
The potential Kenyan-led operation has drawn criticism as well, with detractors pointing out that the nation’s police have long been charged with utilizing torture, lethal force, and other atrocities.
The resolution emphasizes that everyone taking part in the proposed mission must take the appropriate precautions to stop sexual exploitation and abuse as well as conduct thorough background checks on all individuals. Additionally, it calls for prompt inquiries into any accusations of malfeasance.
The resolution also cautions mission participants to implement wastewater management and other environmental controls to stop the introduction and spread of water-borne illnesses like cholera.
The size of the force, if authorized, was not immediately known, however, the government of Kenya has previously suggested sending 1,000 police personnel. Additionally, Antigua & Barbuda, Jamaica, and the Bahamas have committed to sending people.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s government pledged last month to help a Kenyan-led force with $100 million in logistical support.
The resolution states that further measures would be imposed by the Security Council on those who fuel the violence in Haiti. Jimmy Chérizier, often known as “Barbecue,” is the leader of the largest gang coalition in Haiti and has previously been sanctioned by the U.N. Former police officer Chérizier recently issued a threat to confront any armed force seen to be mistreating its members.
The proposed resolution was made about a year after the prime minister of Haiti and other senior government figures asked for the immediate dispatch of a foreign armed force. At the time, the government was battling violent gangs that were thought to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.
According to the most current U.N. figures, more than 2,400 persons were reported dead in Haiti between January 1 and August 15, along with over 950 kidnappings and 902 injuries. After gangs pillaged their villages, more than 200,000 people were forced to flee due to violence, with many of them being squeezed into improvised shelters.
