UN asks Haiti to Prepare for Kenyan-led Multinational Police Force

GOOBJOOG NEWS | UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations has called on all stakeholders in Haiti to prepare for the deployment of the Kenyan-led multinational police force.

UN secretary-general’s special representative for Haiti on Thursday Maria Isabel Salvador made the calls saying the Caribbean country remains plagued by violence due to crimes committed by armed gangs that increasingly undermine humanitarian activities.

“I cannot overstress the severity of the situation in Haiti, where multiple protracted crises have reached a critical point,” she told the Security Council in a briefing.

Last year, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) documented more than 8,400 direct victims of gang violence, including people killed, injured and kidnapped, an increase of 122 percent over the previous year, she said.

The capital of Port-au-Prince accounted for 83 percent of killings and injuries, and violence also spread to other areas, specifically to Artibonite.

Salvador asked all Haitian stakeholders to effectively prepare for the deployment of the multinational police force and to create the necessary coordination mechanisms for its success.

She asked UN member states to contribute generously to ensure the timely deployment of the police force in Haiti.

Deployment Challenged

Meanwhile, the Kenyan high court is scheduled to determine the case challenging the deployment of the officers to Haiti on Friday.

Judge Chacha Mwita had on October 24 last year extended orders stopping the deployment of the officers to Haiti for a peacekeeping mission pending the determination of a case filed by opposition party leader Ekuru Aukot.

In the case, Aukot sued President William Ruto and his administration in a bid to block the peacekeeping mission that will see the deployment of at least 1,000 police officers to the gang-ridden nation.

He argued that Kenya has not ratified any law or treaty to allow the deployment of police officers outside the country.