2024-04-27 03:01:00
The President of Kenya, William Ruto, stated that he is “ready” to deploy troops to Haiti after the inauguration of the Transitional Presidential Council, which aims to temporarily cover the political vacuum in a context of spiraling criminal violence that is plaguing the country. country.
Ruto made these statements hours after the Haitian Presidential Transition Council was formed to replace the Government of the resigned Prime Minister, Ariel Henry. The new body has the challenge of restoring the security of the country, hostage to armed gangs, and organizing elections to elect a president on February 7, 2026.
Roadmap
“In implementing the roadmap contained in this political agreement, Kenya is ready and committed, in coordination with a broad alliance of African and (Caribbean Community) CARICOM nations to rapidly implement the security support infrastructure envisaged in the resolution of the UN Security Council,” he declared.
The Kenyan president stressed that the Transitional Council “has the unique task of acting quickly to reestablish key organs of the State critical to the restoration of law and order and necessary to bring hope to all Haitians,” as indicated through his profile on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
“The swearing-in of the Presidential Council is a crucial step in Haiti’s political transition. (…) Kenya assures the Transitional Council of its full support as it guides the country through this complex interregnum,” thus referring to the period of time in that a State does not have a sovereign.
Delay
A little over a month ago Nairobi had announced the delay of the deployment until the establishment of the transitional authorities. Kenya leads the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, an international security force for the Central American country and requested by the Henry Government, which has now left power, in an attempt to stop the violence of criminal gangs.
Henry was promoted in 2021 after the assassination of the then president, Jovenel Moise, but in March of this year, and faced with a new escalation of violence that prevented him from even returning to Haiti after a trip, he agreed to resign and be replaced by a body of seven members with voting rights and two observers. Michel Patrick Boisvert will serve as interim prime minister until the nomination of a new Executive.
Request from United States
The United States asked the international community this Friday to increase donations of funds to deploy the security mission in Haiti, ensuring that the crisis in the Caribbean country is as important as the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan.
“The situation in Haiti is as important and critical as any of the other crises that exist in the world today and the international community must see it this way,” said the person in charge for Latin America at the State Department, Brian Nichols, in a meeting with international media.
According to Nichols, the United States appreciates the efforts that many governments are making to deal with the situation in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, but insisted that the situation in Haiti is also critical.
The Joe Biden Administration has committed $300 million to the future deployment of the multinational security mission approved by the UN and led by Kenya to help the Haitian Police combat the insecurity crisis. But the United States estimates that this mission will have an annual cost of between 500 and 600 million dollars and is pressing for its allies to make more contributions.
“Countries around the world must make strong contributions to that effort and we continue to engage our partners to be generous in addressing this challenge,” the official said.
Great challenges
The Presidential Transition Council of Haiti will face great challenges given the situation that the country is going through, marked by the failure of the government of the recently resigned Henry, who in 30 months in power failed to channel the serious Haitian crisis.
The body is aware of the challenges and the “bleak outlook” that lies ahead, acknowledged interim Prime Minister Boisvert, during the investiture ceremony held this Thursday in two events, one at the National Palace of Port-au-Prince and the other at the office. of the prime minister, known as the Primature.
“Life flees from our country because the situation is very serious (…) The situation challenges all citizens of Haiti, wherever they are. The situation calls us to rise above ourselves and change the paradigm,” he stressed. Boisvert.
The institutional structures of the Haitian State, “weakened by decades of political instability, have suffered a spectacular collapse. Not only the quality, but the very existence of the public services offered to our population has been compromised,” added Régine Abraham, member of the Advice.
The transitional body will address five major projects, consisting of restoring public security, organizing a national conference and constitutional reform, holding democratic, credible and participatory general elections; restore justice, the rule of law and the fundamental rights of citizens, and achieve institutional and economic recovery.
Security reset
The country’s security situation began to deteriorate in 2018, with an increase in kidnappings, armed attacks, rapes and robberies against civilians carried out by armed groups that have committed at least 20 massacres since then. The situation was further aggravated by the assassination of Moise in July 2021.
The gangs have been gaining power, acquiring more weapons and ammunition, and last February they came together to form the criminal coalition “Vivre Ensemble” (Living Together), led by former police officer Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, who commanded the “revolution.” which forced Henry to abandon power.
Since February, their violence has intensified, destroying prisons, hospitals, police stations, pharmacies and homes, looting private and public institutions, actions that have affected all areas of society.
Dead and displaced
In the first three months of the year, at least 2,505 people were killed or injured, according to UN figures, and more than 90,200 people have been displaced and live in inhuman conditions in 85 locations in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, controlled at least in 80% by armed gangs.
Restoring security is a sine qua non condition for achieving all other objectives and that means eradicating the armed gangs, between 200 and 300, that operate in the country, preventing, among other things, the free movement of people and goods. .
Economic recovery is impossible without stability and the restoration of security, something that necessarily involves reinforcing the Haitian National Police.
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