“It’s a bit like repeating the same mistakes,” Rosy Auguste Ducena, a lawyer and programme director at the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) in Haiti, told Al Jazeera last year.Ĭivil society groups also have condemned international support for Henry, who in 2021 indefinitely postponed presidential and legislative elections. More recently, UN deployments in Haiti have widely been viewed as failures: UN peacekeepers sent to the country after a devastating 2010 earthquake were linked to a cholera outbreak that killed about 10,000 people, and UN troops who withdrew from the country in 2019 also have been linked to sexual violence against Haitian women and girls.Ĭivil society groups cited those past interventions – as well as fears that another foreign-led mission could prop up corrupt Haitian officials – in rejecting Henry’s October 2022 appeal for the armed force. The country has seen numerous foreign interventions since then, including a 1915 invasion by US Marines that began a 19-year occupation and a US mission in the 1990s to remove a Haitian military government following a coup. Wariness over foreign deployments stretches back to Haiti’s independence from France in the 1800s. Why are some Haitians against international intervention? In May, the UN said about five million people – half of Haiti’s population – were facing hunger. The request also came as demonstrations against the government, fuelled by the violence and high cost of living, had grown. Henry said at the time that the “immediate deployment” of such a force was needed to address “the humanitarian crisis caused by, among other things, the insecurity resulting from the criminal actions of armed gangs and their sponsors”. The request, which enjoyed the support of Henry’s cabinet, came amid a surge in gang violence in Haiti, including a gang blockade of a key fuel terminal in the capital, Port-au-Prince, that caused widespread shortages and skyrocketing prices of basic goods. Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who assumed the post following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, called on the international community to set up a “specialised armed force” in Haiti in October of last year. Thousands of Haitians have been displaced due to gang violence in recent months Why did Haiti request international intervention? But after the Kenyans have conducted their initial assessment mission we will of course be in contact with them,” Miller said. “I think it’s too early to get into new details about what those resources might be. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday that Washington, for its part, is “committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force”. “We stand ready to work with Kenya and all partners to ensure the success of the upcoming reconnaissance mission and any subsequent possible deployment under UNSC mandate,” the Canadian ambassador to Haiti, Sebastien Carriere, said on Tuesday. “The Secretary-General reiterates his call to the Security Council to support such a non-UN international operation and encourages member states, particularly from the region, to join forces with Kenya,” Haq said on Monday.Ĭanada, which had previously pledged $75m ($100m Canadian) for Haiti’s police, among other support, also hailed Kenya’s offer. Guterres welcomed the Kenyan pledge, saying he “values Kenya’s consideration to possibly lead a non-UN multinational force”, according to UN spokesperson Farhan Haq. How did the UN and other countries respond? Haitian civil society groups have widely opposed such a move, however, citing past problems caused by foreign intervention and fears that the international community would be propping up Haitian officials seen as partially responsible for the country’s crises. On Monday, the US Department of State welcomed the Kenyan government’s willingness to lead a potential mission and said Washington would introduce a UN Security Council resolution with Ecuador to authorise the deployment. Last year, Haiti’s interim government officially requested an international deployment, garnering support from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the United States.īut while several countries had previously backed the prospect of sending what the UN has dubbed a “specialised support force” to Haiti, prior to Kenya’s announcement on Saturday, no country had stepped forward to lead the intervention. Keep reading list of 3 items list 1 of 3 UN chief calls for a robust global force to help crisis-hit Haiti list 2 of 3 Amnesty urges end to ‘racist’ treatment of Haitian asylum seekers list 3 of 3 Haiti’s displaced: ‘If they go back, they’re going to be killed’ end of list
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