Prime Minister Andrew Holness addresses a press briefing at Jamaica House on Monday, July 1, 2024, to update the nation on Jamaica’s preparedness for Hurricane Beryl. (Photo: JIS)
By Durrant Pate, Our Voice, July 27, 2024
Caribbean nations are yet to send troops to conflict-torn Haiti as promised, as the security support mission sanctioned by the United Nations intensifies with little regional involvement.
Caribbean states, chief among them Jamaica, are being frowned upon by some in the international community for not honouring their commitment to date, even though a first detachment of 400 Kenyan troops arrived in Haiti on June 25.
A second group of Kenyan military personnel have arrived in Haiti to help the national police regain control of some lost parts of the French-speaking island to criminal gangs.
However, the Jamaican government last week reiterated its commitment to send its law enforcement officers as soon as possible to Haiti, where they will assist the neighbouring country’s national police in combatting gangsters.
Finalising details of Jamaican troop deployment
Haitian police authorities met with a Jamaican delegation to iron out details of their deployment here, where armed groups control 80 per cent of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Andrew Holness explained that the deployment of Jamaican troops to Haiti is contingent on the finalisation of critical resourcing and is awaiting confirmation on funding and other agreements in furtherance of the mission.
He made the remarks after receiving an update from the Chief of Defence Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF, Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman, during a recent meeting of the National Security Council.
The deployment of the Jamaican troops to Haiti is part of the Multinational Security Support mission to restore stability to the country, which has long been rocked by gang violence that worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in the capital wanting to overthrow then prime minister, Ariel Henry.
The Kenyan troops, which are elite officers from the Kenya Police Rapid Deployment Unit underwent rigorous training, ensuring they were optimally prepared for the mission. They will be phased up to 1,000 personnel.
The deployment was approved by a UN Security Council Resolution last October. Other countries in addition to Kenya will travel to Haiti to join the large operations including Jamaica, Benin, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Suriname and Chad.
Concerns over human rights
However, the mission raises concerns among the Haitian population about respect for human rights with some human rights organisations accusing the Kenyan police of excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Garry Conille has ordered gangs to surrender their weapons during a televised speech last week in which he acknowledged how dangerous life in Haiti’s capital and beyond has become and pledged to crack down on the rampant violence.
Conille spoke a day after a second group of 200 Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti to help quell widespread gang violence as part of a UN-backed mission led by the East African country.
Gangs control 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince and have been blamed for killing or injuring more than 1,500 people in the first three months of the year alone.
Posted July 26, 2024