According to a recent U.N. spokesperson, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, and Chad have officially informed the UN of their intention to provide men to an international force to assist the Haitian national police in combating armed gangs.
A trust fund to support the international security support operation has also received contributions totaling $10.8 million, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric informed reporters, adding that other commitments totaling $78 million have also been made.
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A foreign security mission to Haiti was approved by the UN Security Council in October, one year after the Caribbean nation requested assistance in battling vicious gangs that had fully taken over its city, Port-au-Prince.
The resolution passed by the 15-member council mandates that nations notify Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, of their involvement in the security mission. Despite having Security Council approval, the mission is not a U.N. undertaking.
The difficulty in locating a nation ready to spearhead a security aid operation caused a delay in responding to Haiti’s appeal for assistance. Kenya committed to providing 1,000 police last year, but the action was later halted by a local court for being unconstitutional. The proposal will proceed, according to Kenyan President William Ruto, although Guterres has not yet been informed.
Benin has stated it intends to deploy around 1,500 people, according to Dujarric. The number of soldiers offered by the remaining four countries was not immediately apparent.
The UN claimed separately that half of Haiti’s population, or around 5.5 million people, require humanitarian relief, and it is requesting $674 million in 2024. According to Ulrika Richardson, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, the organization barely got a third of the funding it requested last year.
