Organization of American States Backs Kenya’s Move to Send Troops to Haiti

WASHINGTON, DC – The Organization of American States (OAS) has welcomed Kenya’s willingness to play a leading role in sending an international force to Haiti, as escalating violence between armed gangs and police in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country is fueling a humanitarian crisis that has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Unrest in Haiti (CMC File Photo)The OAS said that it is continuing to closely monitor the situation and “the aspects derived from it.

“In this regard, the General Secretariat welcomes with appreciation the announcement by the Government of Kenya to play a leading role in a multinational force that contributes to Haiti’s security needs,” the OAS said in a statement.

In its statement, the OAS said that it “reiterates its solidarity with the Haitian people and reiterates its willingness to continue working together with the Haitian counterparts, with the OAS member states, with CARICOM and with the OAS Working Group on Haiti to bring solutions in terms of democracy, human rights, security and comprehensive development of the Haitian nation”.

Gang warfare has increasingly plagued Haiti since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and many service providers have been forced to close, leaving a growing number of people in this country of 11.45 million without access to healthcare, food, education and other basics.

In a statement over the last weekend, Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Alfred Mutua,  said his country’s commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed the statement from the African country, adding that Washington was looking forward to working with partners of Haiti to advance this process successfully, including through a UN Security Council Resolution authorizing a multinational force to Haiti.

Since then, the Bahamas and Jamaica have publicly signaled their intention to send personnel to the CARICOM country once authorized by the United Nations Security Council.

Earlier this week, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a news conference welcoming Kenya’s position that Washington would be working on a resolution “that will give the Kenyans what they require to establish their presence in Haiti” without specifying a timeline.

“This is not a traditional peacekeeping force, this is not a traditional security situation. We have gangs that have overtaken the country… that are terrorizing civilians every single day,” the US diplomat said, adding “it is really a police action to stabilize the country, so that the country can return to the path of democracy, so that they can move forward with a political process, which will lead to a stable Government, which will be in able to deal with future situations”.

Last year, Haiti’s Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry, sent an urgent appeal to the UN asking for “the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity” to stop gang warfare.

Last month, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the UN Security Council and major potential contribution countries to act fast to create the conditions for the deployment of multinational force to Haiti.

Guterres said that a UN expert’s estimate that Haiti needs up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers is no exaggeration.

Last month, CARICOM leaders at their summit in Trinidad and Tobago “expressed “grave concern over the deep humanitarian, security and governance crisis,” in Haiti.