United States of America has said that its commitment to the Haitian people remains unwavering, reaffirming support of ongoing international efforts to deploy a Multinational Security Support mission for the Caribbean nation.
This was contained in a statement released today by the State Department Spokesperson, Matthew Miller and made available to Alltimepost.com.
“We reaffirm our support of ongoing international efforts to deploy a Multinational Security Support mission for Haiti, as requested by Haiti and authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 2699, and renew our calls for the international community to urgently provide support for this mission.”
The United States, he noted, acknowledges the ruling by the Republic of Kenya’s High Court regarding the deployment of Kenyan police in support of the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti and the Government of Kenya’s stated intent to challenge this ruling.
The State Department further said in in the statement: “It is urgent that the international community respond to the unprecedented levels of gang violence and destabilizing forces preying upon the Haitian people. At the same time, we call for the restoration of democratic order through an inclusive political process in Haiti.
“We continue to urge Haitian stakeholders to reach consensus on power-sharing and inclusive governance. The only legitimate path to long-term peace and stability is through free and fair elections.
It would be recalled that a Kenyan High Court on Friday ruled against the government’s plan to send 1000 police officers to Haiti as part of its contributions to a multinational security and peace keeping efforts in the troubled nation.
The Reuters reported on Friday that the court ruled that a plan to send police officers to Haiti to lead a U.N. approved mission was unconstitutional, throwing into doubt the future of an initiative aimed at tackling gang violence in the Caribbean nation.
An opposition party in October challenged the government’s decision to send 1,000 officers to address a deepening crisis in Haiti, where gang violence killed at least 5,000 people and forced around 200,000 people from their homes last year.
Kenya had hoped to have its officers in Haiti as soon as this month after the United Nations Security Council approved the mission in October, but a court issued a stay on the deployment shortly after.
High Court Judge Chacha Mwita said that under Kenyan law, the authorities could only deploy officers abroad if a “reciprocal arrangement” was in place with the host government.
“Any further action or steps taken by any state organ or state officer in furtherance of such a decision, contravenes the Constitution and the law and is therefore unconstitutional, illegal and invalid,” Mwita said.
The government did not immediately comment on whether it would appeal the ruling.
Haiti first requested help in 2022 as gang violence surged but was unable to find a country willing to lead a security mission.
Many governments have been wary of supporting Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s unelected administration and intervening in a nation where previous missions have been dogged by human rights abuses.
Kenya finally stepped forward last July, saying it was doing so in solidarity with a brother nation. The Bahamas then committed 150 people, and Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda said they were willing to help.
The United Nations said this week that it had documented 4,789 people killed by gang violence in Haiti last year, an increase of 119% from 2022, and that another 3,000 were kidnapped.
