Kenyan President William Ruto ceremonially bids farewell to 400 soldiers leaving on a UN-backed mission.
A contingent of Kenyan police will leave for a controversial mission in Haiti to combat the influence of powerful criminal gangs that have brought unrest and violence to the Caribbean nation.
Kenyan President William Ruto held a ceremony Monday wishing luck to the 400 officers who will arrive in Haiti later this week in a United Nations-backed initiative, the first contingent of 1,000 police Kenya hopes to send. .
“This mission is one of the most urgent, important and historic in the history of global solidarity,” Ruto told officials in quotes shared by his office.
“It is a mission to affirm the universal values of the community of nations, a mission to defend humanity.”
Kenya has strong credentials in global peacemaking and conflict resolution. The presence of our police officers in Haiti will bring relief to the men, women and children whose lives have been shattered by gang violence. We will work with the international community to achieve lasting results… pic.twitter.com/Org9RWzViV
– William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) June 24, 2024
Ruto and the United States have welcomed the effort after months of debate over how to address spiraling violence in Haiti, where gangs have expanded their influence, gained control over large swathes of territory and brought violence and instability to lives. of civilians.
“We hope to see further measurable improvements in security, particularly with respect to access to humanitarian aid and core economic activity,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday.
Countries such as the United States and Canada have called for an international police mission, but have hesitated to commit their own troops to play a role in such an effort. A U.N. official said in March that at least 5,000 foreign police officers would be needed to help tackle gang violence in Haiti, far more than the total 1,000 Kenyan police officers that will be deployed.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration pledged $300 million in support during Ruto's recent visit to the United States, but said the involvement of U.S. troops could create “all kinds of questions that can be easily misrepresented.”
There has been a long history of disastrous foreign interventions in Haiti, the first country in the world to successfully gain independence through a slave rebellion in 1804, fueling concerns that the initiative could backfire or fuel further instability.
The United States invaded and occupied Haiti between 1915 and 1934, overseeing a system of forced labor and widespread rights abuses.
