Nairobi, Kenya—Kenya is ready to lead a multinational force in Haiti and will deploy 1,000 police officers to the strife-torn Caribbean nation once its offer is accepted, the foreign minister said.
Gangs control around 80 percent of the Haitian capital, and violent crimes such as kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings are common.
“Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti. Kenya’s commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations,” Alfred Mutua said in a statement.
Its “proposed deployment” still required a mandate from the UN Security Council and approval from domestic authorities, he said.
“An Assessment Mission by a Task Team of the Kenya Police is scheduled within the next few weeks. This assessment will inform and guide the mandate and operational requirements of the Mission.”
No other details were immediately available.
With Haitian security forces overwhelmed, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry have called for an international intervention to help support the police.
Ahead of the Kenyan announcement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that progress was being made toward establishing a multinational peacekeeping force for Haiti.
“My expectation is that we will have some progress to report on that very soon,” he said.
Kenya has deployed its forces abroad for peacekeeping in the past, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises, with gangs controlling most of Port-au-Prince.
Guterres said this month that violence had continued “to escalate and spread”, citing murders, kidnappings, rape of women and girls, looting, and the displacement of thousands of people.
Guterres, relaying a request from Henry, began calling in October for an international, non-UN deployment to help support police in the troubled nation.
The Security Council this month adopted a unanimous resolution encouraging member states “to provide security support to the Haitian National Police,” including through “the deployment of a specialized force.”
But the text, which was focused on a one-year extension of the mandate for the special UN political mission to Haiti, BINUH, stopped short of making any direct plans for such a force.
The council has asked Guterres to present by mid-August a report on all possible options, including a UN-led mission.
Earlier this month, Blinken said the US remained active in its search for a country to head a multinational force in Haiti.
This week, Washington ordered nonessential personnel and family of government employees to leave the country.
Staff at the US embassy in Port-au-Prince already live under tight security — confined to a protected residential area and forbidden to walk around the capital or use any public transport or taxis. AFP