UN Security Council approves intervention force in Haiti
Haiti has been in a serious crisis for years. Political instability, violence and economic stagnation are paralyzing the country.
The UN Security Council has now voted to send an intervention force to stabilize the Caribbean state.
The UN Security Council has approved the deployment of a multinational response force to the crisis-hit Caribbean nation of Haiti. The force is supposed to be led by Kenya and support the government in the fight against violent criminal gangs and stabilize the state. Thirteen Security Council members voted for the resolution introduced by the USA, two abstained. The Security Council also voted for a general small arms embargo for Haiti.
The resolution authorizes the force for one year. The deployment should be reviewed after nine months. When it will begin has not yet been determined. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said the operation should begin within months. Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua told the BBC the force should be in Haiti on January 1, 2024, “if not sooner.”
Up to 1000 men strong
The government in Port-au-Prince has been calling for a UN mission to be sent for a year. Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus thanked Haiti immediately after the vote: “The solution to the crisis in Haiti is a glimmer of hope for the people who have been suffering for too long from the consequences of a difficult political, socio-economic, security and humanitarian situation. ”
In the past few weeks, the plans for the intervention force had taken more and more shape. It was not initially clear how big it would be. Kenya had proposed 1,000 police officers. Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda have also committed personnel. Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua have also agreed to take part in the mission, and the USA has promised financial support of $100 million and logistical support.
Haiti is in crisis
The Caribbean state of Haiti has been suffering from a humanitarian crisis for years, to which not only gang violence but also political instability and economic stagnation contribute. The country’s police are considered overwhelmed. From January to mid-August, more than 2,400 people were killed, more than 950 kidnapped and 902 injured in Haiti, according to the UN. The assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 dramatically worsened the security situation.
According to the United Nations, almost half of the poor island nation’s eleven million residents suffer from acute hunger. According to the UN, the number of people in the country in need of humanitarian aid has doubled in the last five years alone.
