Haiti’s prime minister says Kenyan police are crucial to controlling gangs, early days are positive

US
By James

UNITED NATIONS — Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the recently deployed Kenyan police will be crucial in increasing control of the situation. the gangs of the country and on the road to democratic elections – and he called the feedback from their first days in the capital “extremely, extremely positive.”

He said his government will focus on tackling gang violence and food insecurity, ensuring free elections through constitutional and political reforms, and restoring public confidence in the police.

On June 25, the first contingent of 200 Kenyan police officers arrived in Port-au-Prince. Kenya has pledged 1,000 police officers to the international police force and Conille said the next contingent would arrive “very soon.” They will later be joined by police officers from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica in the force that will total 2,500.

Haiti called for an international force to fight gangs by 2022, and UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres spent months appealing for a country to lead the force before the Kenyans came forward.

The gangs have grown in power since the assassination of President Jovenel MoĂŻse on July 7, 2021, and are estimated to control 80% of the capital. The increase in murders, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by vigilantes.

Conille, a former UN development expert, took office as prime minister last month after voted by a transitional council.

With the help of the international police force, Conille is tasked with stabilizing the country in preparation for democratic elections in February 2026.

“Now more than ever, Haiti must mobilize all necessary and available resources to make this transition the final one, one that can put the country on a path to peace, security and sustainable development,” Conille told the council.

He said Haiti plans to “redefine our approaches” to build “strong and effective institutions” by the time the police leave Haiti.

Since arriving, the Kenyan police contingent has held “operational meetings” with the national police and launched “joint operations” for the mission, Kenya’s ambassador to the UN, Njambi Kinyungu, said.

In February, gangs carried out coordinated attacks on government infrastructure, including roads, prisons and the Port-au-Prince airport, ultimately leading to Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation in April.

The violence has led to the displacement of 580,000 people, more than half of them are childrenaccording to the UN children’s agency UNICEF. The World Food Programme reports that more than 4 million Haitians face food insecurity.

Conille called the history of foreign intervention in the country a “mixed mix” that included human rights violations and a “lack of respect for sovereignty and local culture.”

“Haiti must escape the spiral of security missions once and for all,” the prime minister said.

Conille said the international police force “will have to work closely together and maintain constant communication between all parties involved to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.”

The UN Special Representative for Haiti, MarĂ­a Isabel Salvador, urged the international community to contribute to the fund financing the police operation.

Kenya’s Kinyungu and Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez Gil of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, also called on countries that have made pledges to the fund to provide the money. Álvarez Gil said this should happen “as soon as possible.”

The United States has pledged $309 million to the police mission, the largest contribution of any country. Kinyungu said Kenya is “working closely with the United States” to distribute supplies in Haiti, but U.S. funding has not yet arrived.

During the council meeting, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia criticized the US for failing to prevent arms smuggling to Haitian gangs.

“We don’t see that the current embargo is doing anything to prevent the flow of weapons from the United States,” Nebenzia said. “If it wanted to, Washington could have addressed this problem long ago.”

Earlier, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States is “concerned about the illicit flow of arms into Haiti” and is “actively working to enforce the arms embargo.”

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Edith M. Lederer contributed to this United Nations report.

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