Kenyan President Ruto commends UN resolution on Haiti intervention

Kenyan President William Ruto has commended a new United Nations Security Council decision authorizing a foreign security operation to intervene in Haiti.

Mr Ruto expressed hope that the Multinational Security Support Mission that his country is leading will leave a different imprint on Haiti’s history of international interventions.

President William Ruto’s remarks came hours after Monday’s vote at the United Nations, marking the first time in almost 20 years that a force would be deployed to the troubled Caribbean nation.

Ruto said it is essential that resources, as well as the operational scope available to the U.N. team, be appropriately reinforced.

Ruto said the Kenya-led force “will provide a different footprint in the history of international interventions in Haiti.”

The resolution, drafted by the United States and Ecuador, authorizes the force to deploy for one year, with a review after nine months. The non-U.N. mission would be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million.

Kenya’s Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, voiced hope about the mission’s success.

Kenya proposed leading the Haiti operation, citing its experience in global peacekeeping efforts as well as linkages between Africa and Haiti, where the majority of the population is of African heritage.

The Security Council vote came nearly a year after Haiti’s government asked assistance to quell a surge in gang violence and restore security so that the country could hold long-delayed elections.

With only approximately 10,000 active police in a country of more than 11 million people, Haiti’s National Police has struggled in its campaign against gangs.