Considering Haiti’s devastation caused by gang violence, Kenyan President William Ruto recently encouraged the UN to swiftly approve an international security operation there that it has committed to head.
Haiti is the true test of global cooperation and solidarity, Ruto noted in an address to the UN General Assembly. He added, “The international community has failed this test so far, and thus let down people very, very badly.”
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A security mission to the island country has been requested by Haitian authorities and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for months, but many nations have been reluctant to respond, in part out of concern that they would become caught up in a violent quagmire.
In July, Kenya offered to be the leader of an international police intervention to help train and support the Haitian police, but the UN Security Council would need to approve the mission.
Ruto encouraged the UN to swiftly come up with a framework so that the mission could start.
“Kenya is ready to play its part in full, and jointly, with a coalition of other nations of goodwill, as a great friend and true sibling of Haiti,” Ruto noted.
The Kenya President stated, “Haiti deserves better from the world.”
Around 80% of the Haitian capital is under the influence of gangs, and armed theft, rape, and ransom kidnappings are frequent violent crimes.
The UN said last month that more than 2,400 people had died in Haiti since the year 2023 began.
Haiti, the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere, has not had elections since 2016 and is currently experiencing a never-ending string of economic, health, and other issues.
According to Ruto, the mission should be a part of a larger plan that includes reforms and humanitarian relief, “with the aim of enabling free and fair elections within a reasonable time frame.”
From 2004 until 2017, the UN maintained a peacekeeping force in Haiti, although it was no longer welcomed after a cholera outbreak linked to infected UN soldiers resulted in thousands of deaths.
