The UN Security Council on Monday voted to send a multinational armed force led by Kenya to Haiti to help combat violent gangs, marking the first time in almost 20 years that a force would be deployed to the Caribbean nation.
The resolution drafted by the US and Ecuador was approved with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions from China and Russia.
The resolution authorizes the force to deploy for one year, with a review after nine months.
Photo: AFP
The non-UN mission would be funded by voluntary contributions, with the US pledging up to US$200 million.
The vote was held nearly a year after Haiti’s prime minister requested the immediate deployment of an armed force, which is expected to quell a surge in gang violence and restore security so Haiti can hold long-delayed elections.
The Haitian National Police have struggled in their fight against gangs with only about 10,000 active officers in a country of more than 11 million people.
“More than just a simple vote, this is in fact an expression of solidarity with a population in distress,” Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Victor Geneus said. “It’s a glimmer of hope for the people who have been suffering for too long.”
A deployment date has not been set, although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said that a security mission to Haiti could deploy “in months.”
Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfred Mutua last week said that the force could deploy within two to three months.
Key officers are being taught French, Mutua said.
It was not immediately clear how big the force would be.
Kenya’s government has previously proposed sending 1,000 police officers.
Hours after the vote, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry thanked the UN Security Council, the UN’s secretary-general, and Kenya and other countries who agreed to join the force, saying: “The bell of liberation sounded... We couldn’t wait any longer.”
In addition, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda have pledged to send personnel.
Russian Ambassador to the US Vassily Nebenzia said he did not have any objections in principle to the resolution.
However, sending an armed force to a country even at its request “is an extreme measure that must be thought through,” Nebenzia said.
Multiple requests for details, including the use of force and when it would be withdrawn, “went unanswered,” he said.
“Authorizing another use of force in Haiti ... is short-sighted” without the details sought by Moscow, he said.
Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun (張軍) said he hopes countries leading the mission would hold in-depth consultations with Haitian officials on the deployment and explained his opposition to the resolution.
“Without a legitimate, effective, and responsible government in place, any external support can hardly have any lasting effects,” Zhang said, adding that a consensus for a transition is urgently needed as well as a “feasible and credible” timetable.
“Regrettably, the resolution just adopted fails to send the strongest signal in that regard,” he said.
Geneus said he was grateful the resolution was approved, because a foreign armed force is essential, but added that it was “not enough.”
“Socioeconomic development must be taken into account to take care of extreme poverty,” he said, adding that it is the source of many of Haiti’s problems and has created fertile ground for the recruitment of young people by gangs.
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