President William Ruto has assured Kenyan police officers stationed in Haiti that he is striving to secure superior equipment for them.
Kenya is set to dispatch an additional 600 officers to Haiti in the upcoming weeks to combat the gangs that have taken control of much of Port-au-Prince and its neighboring regions.
With this forthcoming group, the total number of Kenyan officers assigned since June to support Haiti’s struggling police force will reach 1,000.
During his visit to the Caribbean nation, President Ruto conveyed his backing for converting the current Kenya-led security initiative into an all-out United Nations peacekeeping mission.
Several other nations have jointly pledged around 1,900 additional troops.
Gangs continue to wreak havoc in Haiti, and a UN human rights specialist has highlighted that these groups are breaching new territories, exacerbating displacement.
The UN Security Council is slated to convene by the month’s end to deliberate on extending Kenya’s present mission mandate for another year, setting the stage for a comprehensive UN operation by 2025.
An affirmed extension would bolster the mission with increased resources and financial support, addressing the current equipment deficiencies.
President Ruto, addressing the officers at their Port-au-Prince base, lauded their accomplishments over recent months.
“Many doubted Haiti could be reclaimed, but your progress has silenced the skeptics,” he stated.
He reaffirmed their eventual victory against the gangs and committed to securing better gear. The nearly 400 Kenyan officers currently deployed “are patrolling alongside Haitian forces to safeguard the populace and restore order,” Ruto emphasized.
“Our next wave, an additional 600 officers, is in the midst of redeployment training. We anticipate being mission-ready within a few weeks and eagerly await the necessary support for their deployment,” he noted. However, discontent within Haiti has emerged over the perceived lack of decisive action against the gangs.
A UN human rights analyst recently visiting the nation indicated the mission’s equipment was inadequate, citing a dire need for helicopters, night vision goggles, and drones.
“The Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), endorsed by the UN Security Council in October 2023, has only mustered less than a quarter of its planned forces,” reported William O’Neil on Friday.
In spite of an international arms embargo, weapons continue to be illicitly imported, enabling the gangs to seize new areas, he disclosed.
During his visit to the country’s southeast, the UN expert observed that local police were hamstrung by logistical and technical deficits, unable to counter the gangs.
A policeman in Jérémie reportedly said: “The situation verges on the insurmountable. We need to learn to walk on water.”
O’Neil also pointed out that sexual violence had soared, displacing over 700,000 individuals.
“This prolonged suffering must be put to an end. It’s a race against time,” he urged.
The solutions are already in place, but “efforts need to be doubled immediately,”
“It’s critical to choke the gangs’ operations by equipping the MSS Mission suitably to support the Haitian National Police and to apply the other measures decreed by the United Nations Security Council, including the sanction regime and the arms embargo,” O’Neil stressed.
