(New York) The Biden administration on Friday pledged US$100 million to support a Kenyan-led multinational force aimed at restoring security in Haiti and urged other countries to make similar contributions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States would provide logistics, including intelligence, airlift, communications and medical support to the mission, which must still be approved by the United Nations Security Council .
Apart from Kenya, which would lead the operation, troops from several Caribbean countries would also be deployed in the country.
Mr. Blinken urged the international community to pledge additional personnel as well as equipment, logistics, training and funding to make this effort successful.
PHOTO BING GUAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
He warned his colleagues from some 20 countries that Haitians “could not wait any longer”
Blinken said it was imperative that the Security Council authorize the mission as quickly as possible so that the force could be operational in the coming months. He stressed, however, that international aid could only be part of Haiti’s recovery from years of corruption, lawlessness, gang violence and political chaos.
“Improved security must be accompanied by real progress to resolve the political crisis,” he said. The support mission will not replace political progress. »
Mr. Biden also held a closed-door meeting Friday to talk about Haiti, the needs of the proposed Kenyan mission and the results of a trip to Haiti by senior Kenyan officials in August. More than 30 countries attended the meeting, and at least 11 of them made concrete commitments of support, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations.
It was unclear what type of support was promised, and the official did not comment on China and Russia’s position regarding a possible U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize the Kenya mission.
Gang violence has increased in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas in recent months, with 1,860 people killed, injured or kidnapped between April and June, an increase of 14% compared to the first three months of the year, according to the latest UN statistics.