By Ebi Kesiena
Haiti’s Government has welcomed with great interest, a Kenyan offer to lead a 1,000-strong multinational force to bolster security in the violence-torn Caribbean country.
A statement from Haiti Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus on Sunday noted that Haiti is in high hopes to welcome Kenya’s proposed evaluation mission as the Caribbean country appreciates this expression of African support.
Earlier, Kenya had announced that it was prepared to deploy 1,000 police agents to help train and support their Haitian counterparts in combating the violent gangs that have taken control of much of capital Port-au-Prince.
“Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti,” said the Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua.
Mutua noted that the Kenyan-led deployment would still require a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, as well as formal agreement by local authorities.
According to Mutua, Kenya would send an “evaluation mission” to Haiti in coming weeks.
Kenya, seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa, has participated in peacekeeping operations in its own region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other U.S. diplomats have been actively seeking a country to head a multinational force.
Gangs in Haiti control roughly 80% of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes including kidnappings for ransom, carjackings, rapes and armed thefts are common.
With a weak government and its security forces overwhelmed, the country, the poorest Western Hemisphere nation has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises.
Both Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the U.N.’s Guterres have for nearly a year called for an international intervention. Up to now, no country had stepped forward.
A U.N. peacekeeping mission was in operation in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 but fell out of favor after a cholera outbreak traced to infected U.N. personnel from Nepal claimed 9,500 lives.
Lat week, the United States had ordered nonessential embassy personnel and their families to leave Haiti as soon as possible.
