WASHINGTON, United States: The United States Saturday appealed for urgent support for a UN-backed law-and-order mission to the gang-plagued nation, Haiti, which has been thrown into doubt after a Kenyan court ruled against Nairobi’s plan to send its police to the country.
“The United States’ commitment to the Haitian people remains unwavering,” spokesman State Department Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“We reaffirm our support of ongoing international efforts to deploy a Multinational Security Support mission for Haiti… and renew our calls for the international community to urgently provide support for this mission.”
Kenya had been meant to lead the Haiti mission but a High Court judge Friday ruled that sending police to Haiti “contravenes the constitution and the law and is therefore unconstitutional, illegal and invalid.”
The Kenyan government has vowed to appeal the decision, a move also noted by Miller in his statement.
Nairobi had previously stated it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel — an offer welcomed by the US and other countries that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground.
“It is urgent that the international community respond to the unprecedented levels of gang violence and destabilizing forces preying upon the Haitian people,” spokesman State Department said.
“At the same time, we call for the restoration of democratic order through an inclusive political process in Haiti,” he said, adding that the “only legitimate path to long-term peace and stability is through free and fair elections.”
The Western hemisphere’s poorest nation has been in turmoil for years with armed gangs taking over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence, leaving the country’s economy and public health system in tatters.
The assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 plunged the country further into chaos. No elections have been held since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.
Haiti’s foreign minister pleaded Thursday to speed up deployment plans, telling the U.N. Security Council that gang violence in the country was as barbaric as horrors in war zones.
