Haiti – Benin Pledges 2,000 Troops for Haiti

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced at a recent news conference that Benin has committed 2,000 troops to bolster an international force that Kenya would command to assist the Haitian national police in combating armed gangs.

October saw the expedition authorized by the UN, one year after Haiti’s unelected government had asked for help. According to U.N. estimates, the violence in the Caribbean Island claimed about 5,000 lives last year and forced about 300,000 people to flee their homes.

Speaking in Guyana, where she had gone to lead the US delegation to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) conference, Thomas-Greenfield stated that she had been informed, shortly before departing, that Benin had volunteered to provide troops to support the mission.

According to her, certain Caribbean states who had already committed their support had demanded that other Francophone countries join the initiative.

The United States announced “financial, human, and in-kind commitments to the mission” from Benin, France, and Canada in a statement released last week on the margins of the G20 conference in Rio de Janeiro. Canada later promised 80.5 million Canadian dollars ($60 million) for the operation.

In addition to dedicating $200 million, the US has promised to step up efforts to stop the flow of illegal weapons into the Caribbean. According to U.N. assessments, the majority of the guns owned by Haitian gangs are smuggled out of the country.

Kenya’s Ruto says he would send police to combat Haitian gangs and disregard a court decision.

Guyana has also promised money to the mission, Thomas-Greenfield said, but she did not specify how much.

Kenya, the mission’s leader, promised 1,000 police officers, but a local court subsequently ruled the measure unlawful. Meetings have proceeded after President William Ruto said that the initiative would proceed.

The majority of the public offers made thus far to help the security forces—which are funded entirely by voluntary contributions—come from underdeveloped countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

Although no date has been established for the much-anticipated elections in Haiti, Thomas-Greenfield said she had spoken with Prime Minister Ariel Henry and encouraged him as well as opposition parties to reach a consensus on a course of action.

Henry had promised to resign by early February after the nation’s former president was assassinated in 2021, but he subsequently stated that reestablishing security was necessary to guarantee free and fair elections.