The US mulls a peacekeeping operation for Haiti to secure money and equipment to fight gangs

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The US is considering a UN peacekeeping operation in Haiti as a way to secure funding and personnel for a Kenyan-led mission deployed to quell the terrorist threat. gang violence in the Caribbean countrya senior US diplomat said on Wednesday.

Brian A. Nichols, the U.S. assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, spoke hours after The Miami Herald reported that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is considering the possibility of a traditional U.N. peacekeeping operation, given the limited funding and equipment available for the current mission.

“A (peacekeeping operation) is one way we can do that,” Nichols told reporters. “But we’re looking at multiple ways.”

The UN Security Council would eventually have to vote on a peacekeeping mission. But experts have said it is unlikely they would support one, noting that many Haitians would likely oppose it given the introduction of cholera And cases of sexual abuse which took place when UN troops were last in Haiti.

When asked about a possible peacekeeping mission, a UN spokesman said only that “it would be a decision of the Security Council.”

Nichols noted that the current UN-supported mission to Haiti relies on voluntary contributions, with the US and Canada providing the majority of funding so far.

There are currently about 400 Kenyan police officers in Haitibut the mission also calls for police and soldiers from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica for a total of 2,500 troops. They would be deployed in phases that would cost about $600 million a year. Currently, the UN has pledged $85 million for the mission, of which $68 million has been received.

However, contributions to the UN fund for the mission have remained limited and Haitians complain they have seen no decrease in gang violence since the first group of Kenyans arrived in late June.

“We need the rest of the international community to come forward with much larger financial contributions so that the force can continue to operate and other countries can deploy their units as part of the (mission),” Nichols said.

He spoke a day before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit Haiti on Thursday and then the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

Blinken is expected to meet with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille and a transitional presidential council and push for the appointment of a provisional electoral council so that Haiti can hold the long-awaited elections.

“The prime minister is right to be concerned about the future, but I think we’ve come a long way since the start of the year,” Nichols said.

Haiti last held its presidential elections in November 2016. No elections have been held since then due to gang violence and political unrest.

Former President Jovenel Moïse was murdered in July 2021and gang violence increased in the political vacuum that followed. In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks The aim was to attack key government infrastructure and prevent the return of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was in Kenya to discuss the upcoming mission.

Gangs have raided more than two dozen police stations, opened fire at the main international airport, which forced it to remain closed for almost three monthsand stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing thousands of prisoners.

Henry, who cannot return to Haiti, resigned in AprilLater, a transitional presidential council was established, which appointed Conille as prime minister.

“We have come a long way since those very dark moments,” Nichols said, noting that Haiti’s police and military recently launched its first joint operation with the Kenyans“Tackling gangs and their leaders in a way that hasn’t been done in years.”

But gangs still control 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince, and their leaders continue to order attacks in surrounding areas. More than 3,200 people were killed from January to May, with violence that left more than half a million people dead homelessness in recent years.

Attempts to advance politically have also stalled, and Haiti’s transitional council is now embroiled in a major corruption scandal. Three of its nine members have been accused of demanding more than $750,000 from the head of the government-run National Bank of Credit to secure his job. The head has since resigned, and the three council members have denied allegations that the government is investigating.

“The Haitian people deserve transparency and good governance, and the international community, which provides good assistance, needs to see that too,” Nichols said.

After visiting Haiti, Blinken is expected to meet Dominican President Luis Abinader, who has denied Haitians entry into the country and builds a fence along the border between the two countries on the island of Hispaniola.

Nichols said the US hopes for more normal relations between the two countries, “but of course those are sovereign decisions.”