U.N: Kenya Leads In International Efforts for Haiti’s Stability
The United Nations secretary-general, who has been a staunch advocate of “a robust” use of force against the Caribbean nation’s armed gangs, stated that restoring law and order will require international community support, a strengthened U.N. presence, and movement in Haiti’s ongoing protracted political crisis now that Kenya has taken the lead in possibly leading a foreign intervention into Haiti.
“International action to enhance the security situation should be supported by the Security Council and guided by the primacy of the political process, anchored in the inter-Haitian political dialogue,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in a highly anticipated letter to the U.N. Security Council outlining options to assist Haiti’s struggling police force in combating armed gangs.
Guterres, who began advocating for the deployment of “a rapid action force” in October, was requested by the Security Council last month to report on how the global body could assist in restoring security in Haiti.
The Miami Herald obtained his letter dated August 14, 2023, addressed to the president of the Security Council, currently led by U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
It describes “the full range of support options” as well as other requirements that must be met for an effective non-UN multinational force deployment. The mission would be overseen by the Security Council, but it would not be a conventional peacekeeping operation.
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The current state of the country is not conducive to a traditional peacekeeping force, according to Guterres’ 14-page report. Nevertheless, disarming gangs in Haiti requires “a capable specialized multinational police force enabled by military assets, coordinated with the national police,” he said, adding that it should be part of a larger strategy led by Haitian political and civil society leaders and supported by the United Nations.
Integrated Office with international collaborators in Haiti. Guterres’ spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters in New York on Tuesday that what the secretary-general had proposed “is really complementary to what he had said earlier regarding recommendations for a non-UN multinational force to support the Haitian police.”
Dujarric stated, “I believe he did that back in October of last year.” “I believe it will become clear when it becomes clear whether different Member States or groups of Member States have offered sufficient resources for a non-UN police force.”
In the letter, the secretary-general states that ideally, a leading nation for the non-UN multinational force in Haiti would deploy completely self-sufficient and with its own arrangements for comprehensive support.
It should be able to recapture areas currently under gang control, deploy itself, and then receive logistical support from the United Nations, similar to the support the U.N. provides to the African military in Somalia at present.
Guterres refers to the force as having both police and military units, acknowledging the complexity of Haiti’s armed groups, which, according to him, have become increasingly sophisticated as they expand and seize control of vast territories.
U.N: Kenya Leads In International Efforts for Haiti’s Stability