According to persons with knowledge of the situation, the Biden administration intends to ask the UN Security Council for permission as early as next week to send a multinational force to Haiti.
The date of the US effort hasn’t been made public, so the persons asked to remain anonymous. Haiti “cannot wait much longer,” President Joe Biden stated in a recent speech to the UN General Assembly.
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The US initiative follows a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Kenyan President William Ruto outside of the UN summit. As part of a larger effort to put an end to the most recent wave of political upheaval that has enveloped the poor country, Ruto has offered to lead the expedition using Kenyan troops.
In his remarks, Biden praised Ruto for being, “willingness to serve as the lead nation of a UN-backed security support mission.” He added, “I call on the Security Council to authorize this mission now.”
A request for comment from the State Department elicited no immediate response. Last October, Haiti made a request for a peacekeeping force to deter gangs from taking over the nation. Kenya was the first to reply, offering to deploy 1,000 police to Haiti to help with training.
Given the UN’s history of using troops in Haiti, sending a force there is a politically difficult decision for both the organization and the nation. UN forces unintentionally spread cholera to Haiti in 2010, killing thousands of people.
A request for comment from the State Department elicited no immediate response. Last October, Haiti made a request for a peacekeeping force to deter gangs from taking over the nation. Kenya was the first to reply, offering to deploy 1,000 police to Haiti to help with training.
Given the UN’s history of using troops in Haiti, sending a force there is a politically difficult decision for both the organization and the nation. UN forces unintentionally spread cholera to Haiti in 2010, killing thousands of people.
