UN warns of increasing gang violence in Haiti amid calls for Kenya-led peace mission
Kenyan court on Tuesday extended an order barring the government from deploying hundreds of police officers to Haiti on a UN-backed mission aiming to pacify the troubled Caribbean nation.
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This as the head of the UN Office in Haiti delivered a bleak report on the situation and underlined the “enormous significance” of the Council’s recent resolution authorising the deployment of a multinational support mission to assist the national police, to be lead by Kenyans.
Security in Haiti, where violent gangs control large swathes of the country, has collapsed even further, with the number of major crimes hitting "record highs," the UN representative to the impoverished Caribbean nation warned..
The report published Monday, cited an increase in the number of indiscriminate killings, kidnappings, rapes and attacks on several urban neighbourhoods considered relatively safe until recently.
"The security situation on the ground continues to deteriorate as growing gang violence plunge(s) the lives of the people of Haiti into disarray and major crimes are rising sharply to new record highs," UN envoy Maria Isabel Salvador told the Security Council.
NOW: #UNSC briefing on #Haiti by SRSG & @BINUH_UN head María Isabel Salvador, @UNODC Exec Dir @GhadaFathiWaly & @unicefchief Catherine Russell
— UN Media Liaison (MALU) (@UNMediaLiaison) October 23, 2023
📌 Latest UNSG report on the #UN Integrated Office in Haiti #BINUH 🔗 https://t.co/ZUAgU4tWZ8
📺 https://t.co/dwYGsm4x5D @Brazil_UN_NY pic.twitter.com/Dw1ffyZBUl
"Major crimes, including intentional homicides and kidnappings, surged at unprecedented rates, mostly in the West and Artibonite departments", home to the capital Port-au-Prince and the city of Gonaives, the new report said.
Between 1 July and 30 September, the national police reported 1,239 homicides, compared with 577 during the same period in 2022.
Between July and September, 701 people were kidnapped, 244 percent more than during the same period in 2022.
The United Nations is also concerned about killings perpetrated by vigilante groups that emerged last spring, "with 388 alleged gang members lynched" from 24 April to 30 September, according to the report.
Towards a peace force
Salvador said she hoped the expected deployment of a multinational intervention force led by Kenya could improve matters.
As the violence from gangs controlling more than half of Port-au-Prince continued to escalate, the Security Council gave the go-ahead in early October for the deployment of the non-UN multinational mission, led by Kenya, to help the overwhelmed Haitian police.
"Reestablishing control by the Haitian national police is a prerequisite for holding credible and inclusive elections," said Salvador, despite the fact that no elections have been held since 2016.
The "expectations of millions of Haitians at home and abroad were raised" by the Security Council's decision to green light the mission, she said.
"A glimmer of hope was cast towards finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that is not an oncoming train."
Kenya still has to vote on the matter before the finalisation of the project.
- Can Kenya help solve Haiti's deep insecurity crisis?
- UN approves Kenya-led mission to combat gangs in Haiti
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Slowed Kenyan process
Court Extends Interim Orders Stopping Deployment of Kenya Police to Haiti https://t.co/RUQfjlaR7K #Haiti #KenyaPolice
— Kahawa Tungu (@KahawaTungu) October 24, 2023
Meanwhile, in Kenya, the case against the deployment of Kenyan police in Haiti was brought by opposition politician and lawyer Ekuru Aukot, who argued the deployment was unconstitutional as it was not backed by any law or treaty.
The High Court judge Enock Mwita said the matter would be heard in an open court session from 9 November in "a quicker way".
Details of Kenya's deployment are still not finalised, with parliament yet to approve the move as required by law.
Kenya's cabinet said on 13 October that it had "ratified" the deployment and submitted the resolution to parliament for approval.
The country's involvement has been criticised at home, with many questioning the wisdom of such a risky mission.
Rights watchdogs also say Kenyan police have a history of using sometimes lethal force against civilians, and that they pose an unacceptable risk in Haiti where foreign troops have committed abuses in past interventions.
Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki defended the deployment earlier this month, saying they "are not taking our officers to Haiti as guinea pigs".
The mission is backed by the United States.
(with AFP)
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