On April 26, 2024, seven nations from Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa announced their intention to send agents to support the Haitian police in Haiti under the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).
A UN source claims that these nations are Kenya, which informed the Secretary-General months ago that it would want to spearhead the mission to lead the African nations of Benin and Chad, the Caribbean nations of Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados, and Bangladesh.
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Certain nations, including Bangladesh and Chad, have been part of international peacekeeping missions as blue helmets before. But the UN has always stated that its purpose in Haiti would only be to provide support, reporting to the Haitian National Police, rather than to maintain peace.
The estimated 2,000 agents required for this mission appear to be easily obtained, but there is one significant obstacle to its formation: the trust fund established to finance it has only raised 18 million dollars, despite the mission’s estimated 240 million annual operating costs.
The spokesperson’s office has once again requested member nations to be more generous and bridge the gap to meet all demands, as Canada has contributed the most ($8.7 million) of the millions gathered, followed by the U.S. ($6 million) and France ($3.2 million).
While the MSS is being finalized, the Caribbean nation descends into chaos, with over 5 million Haitians relying on humanitarian aid, the port and airport closed to outside traffic, large portions of the capital held by criminal gangs, and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.
In contrast, President William Ruto of Kenya gave an assurance that his nation “is ready and willing” to send police to assist in restoring order in Haiti following the installation of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT). A serious issue of violence has struck the Caribbean nation.
“Kenya assures Haiti’s CPT of its full support as it guides the country through this complex interregnum,” Ruto stated in a statement uploaded to his X social media account the famous social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
He emphasized that Kenya is “ready and willing, in concert with a broad alliance of African and CARICOM nations committed to Haiti’s stability, to swiftly execute the security support infrastructure envisioned” within Resolution 2699 of the UN Security Council.
