(United Nations) After months of negotiations, the outlines of an international police force to help Haiti, prey to gang violence, are beginning to take shape, but not quickly enough for the Prime Minister who once again called for UN to “act”, urgently.
The United States announced Friday that several countries intended to contribute under the leadership of Kenya to this force that Haiti has been requesting for a year, but its establishment will undoubtedly take a few more months, not to mention its effective deployment.
“The daily life of the Haitian people is difficult, which is why the Security Council […] must act urgently by authorizing the deployment of a multinational security support mission, police and military,” implored Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Friday at the UN, while a vote is expected shortly , maybe next week.
PHOTO CRAIG RUTTLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry
“I ask the international community to act, and to act quickly,” he insisted, listing the horrors that gangs are causing his population to experience.
“Kidnappings for ransom, looting, arsons, recent massacres, sexual and gender-based violence, organ trafficking, human trafficking, homicides, extrajudicial executions, recruitment of child soldiers, road blockages main ones,” he said.
10 to 12 countries
The gangs, who control most of the capital of this poor Caribbean country and reign in terror, have killed more than 2,400 people since the start of the year, according to the UN.
The Haitian national police, however, are not able to confront them, hence the idea of a multinational force in support of this country which is experiencing multiple political and humanitarian crises.
“From 10 to 12 countries have made concrete offers for this mission” of security support to the police in Haiti, indicated the number two of the American Department of State, Victoria Nuland, after a ministerial meeting on Haiti on the sidelines of the General assembly.
PHOTO BING GUAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
She declined to name the countries, but Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda have indicated they will participate. Kenya, which volunteered to lead the force, offered to provide 1,000 security force personnel.
The United States intends to provide significant logistical support – air transport, communications, housing, medical – but not ground security forces a priori.
” Some months ”
“This support mission will not replace progress on the political level,” declared the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, during the meeting, saying he hoped that this force could be “deployed within a few months” , because “there is no time to lose”.
The Secretary of State also announced that Joe Biden’s government would ask Congress for $100 million to finance it.
This must have a significant police component, but also a military component in support of the Haitian police.
Its mission: to provide operational support to the police, ensure the security of critical installations and traffic routes and strengthen the police in the long term.
Non-UN force
It is now awaiting a green light from the UN Security Council to be set up, even if it would not be carried out under the UN flag.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, said “hope that the members of the Security Council will admit that they cannot use Haiti as a pawn, because (the Haitians) have suffered for too long, between hands of far too many countries”, without being more precise.
PHOTO JIM WATSON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
US President Joe Biden during his address to the UN on Tuesday.
A draft resolution prepared by the United States and Ecuador must be discussed next week at the UN, said Mr.me Nuland, expressing “strong support” for this text.
At the UN on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden called on the Security Council to “authorize now” the sending of a multinational force to Haiti, because “the people of Haiti cannot wait any longer”.
His Kenyan counterpart William Ruto did the same on Thursday, deeming it “out of the question” to abandon a population terrorized by gangs.
For almost a year, Ariel Henry, weakened by the lack of elections in his country since 2016, has been calling for such a force to be sent.
But the international community, burned by past experiences and the risks of finding itself trapped in a deadly quagmire, is struggling to mobilize.