Should we or should we not deploy an international force in Haiti to support the local police and curb insecurity? Vote scheduled for this Monday evening, October 2, in New York at the United Nations Security Council. Nothing is certain, because the resolution supported by the United States was the subject of criticism from China and Russia.
Published on: 02/10/2023 – 18:37
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The text provides for the deployment of this force for a period of one year, with the main mission of supporting the Haitian national police.
This involves carrying out joint operations aimed at fighting gangs and reducing insecurity. But also to ensure the guarding of sensitive infrastructures: ports, airports and road intersections… Because criminal groups in Haiti obstruct traffic and disrupt the transport of goods and people between the capital Port-au-Prince and the departments provincial.
The points raised by China and Russia: how large would the deployment be? To date, nothing confirmed. Kenya, which has offered to supervise the mission, is talking about sending a thousand officers, to which would be added personnel from Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda. The system could be expanded, because according to the American press, other countries, including European states – Italy and Spain – would be ready to participate by providing logistical support.
Another question mark for Beijing: arms trafficking. Local gangs are over-equipped and China has been demanding for more than a year a total UN embargo on deliveries of military equipment to non-state actors in Haiti. It remains to be seen whether negotiations in this direction will succeed and whether Washington reaches a consensus with Chinese diplomacy.
Haiti: an international force is emerging, but not fast enough for the interim government
2023-10-02 16:37:03
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