Government officials from Haiti announced they are working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-anticipated deployment of a police force.
Officials from Haiti, Kenya, and the U.S. met for three days this week for an “entry-level discussion” ahead of setting a deadline for the arrival of Kenyan police forces to help Haiti fight a surge in gang violence. The deployment was initially requested by Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October 2022 and approved by the U.N. Security Council the following year.
In Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, warring gangs have forced thousands of people from their homes and into temporary encampments across the city. The violence has led to a surge in migrants at the southern border, with more than 105,000 Haitians reported by U.S. customs at the southern border and sea during the first nine months of 2023. In January 2024, it was reported that as many as 1,100 Haitians were killed, injured, or kidnapped as a result of gang-related crimes.
In September 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the U.S. would supply logistics, including intelligence, airlift, communications and medical support to the mission. Outside of the U.S. providing resources, Kenya would head the operation.
“Improved security must be accompanied by real progress to resolve the political crisis,” Blinken said at the time. “The support mission will not be a substitute for political progress.”
Last month, a Kenyan high court ruled it unconstitutional for Kenya to deploy 1,000 of its police officers to Haiti for the mission without having a police-sharing agreement.
“Intense discussions took place between the two delegations in order to bring it into compliance with the legislation of both countries,” Haiti’s justice ministry said. “A final decision on the text should come early next week as well as its signature by both parties.”
In preparation for the police force’s arrival, U.S. officials have been shipping generators and other equipment to land near the airport in the capital, per the Miami Herald.
“As Haiti celebrates 220 years of independence this year, we urge all Haitian political and civil society actors, including Prime Minister [Ariel] Henry, to work to put their country back on a path toward long-term peace and stability through democratic governance and free and fair elections,” a National Security official told the outlet.
