2023-10-02 23:28:37
The UN Security Council has approved the deployment of a multinational response force to the crisis-hit Caribbean nation of Haiti. The body voted on Monday with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions in favor of a Kenya-led mission. The aim of the operation should be to stabilize the situation in the state, which is shaken by gang crime. The Security Council also voted for a general small arms embargo for Haiti.
The government in Port-au-Prince has been calling for a UN mission to be sent for a year. In the past few weeks, the plans for the intervention force had taken more and more shape. Kenya had agreed to send 1,000 men and lead the force. Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua also agreed to take part in the mission, and the USA promised financial support of 100 million dollars (94.97 million euros).
The resolution passed Monday confirms the establishment of a “multinational security assistance mission,” which is not officially a U.N. force. It was initially approved for a period of twelve months, and there will be a review after nine months.
Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Généus spoke of the resolution as a “ray of hope for people who have been suffering for too long from the consequences of a difficult socio-economic, security and humanitarian situation.” It is only the first step, said the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Now begin the work to get the mission underway. According to the resolution, the force will provide “operational support” to the Haitian National Police. The conditions for elections in the island state should also be created – there have been no elections in Haiti since 2016.
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. According to the UN, the number of people in the country in need of humanitarian aid has doubled in the last five years alone. The assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 dramatically worsened the security situation.
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