PORT AU PRINCE, CMC—The President of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC), Leslie Voltaire, has written to the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urging him to transform the Kenya-led UN Security Council-sanctioned Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti into a peacekeeping mission of blue helmets.
Kenyan President William Ruto has said that the Kenya-led MSS will be boosted by an additional 600 Kenyan police officers, who are completing their pre-deployment training and will be ready for duty next month.
When the troops are deployed, the number of soldiers from the African country under the United Nations Security-sanctioned Multinational Security System (MSS) Mission is expected to reach 2,500. Kenya has sent 400 Kenyan police officers to Haiti so far.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, including Jamaica and the Bahamas, are also participating in the MSS, which is facing funding as it seeks to maintain security in the French-speaking country.
In his letter to Guterres, the TPC head thanked him for his latest report on the situation in Haiti and particularly his intervention before the Security Council on Monday, September 30, 2024, when the Council adopted resolution 2751 extending for one year the mandate of the MSS in Haiti.”
He also highlighted the leadership role played by President Ruto and the governments of the contributing countries, which have enabled, since June 25, the deployment of part of the contingent of the MSS in support of the efforts of the Haitian National Police (HNP).
“Since its arrival, several joint operations have been conducted with agreed results. However, I must emphasize that enormous challenges remain to be overcome to allow the Haitian population to go about their business freely,” Voltaire wrote.
He recalled that on September 26, former TPC head Edgard LeBlanc Fils, in his speech at the UN General Assembly, “explained these challenges and at the same time proposed the transformation of the Multinational Security Support Mission into a UN Peacekeeping Mission, which will allow it to benefit from greater resources and a greater mandate.
”Given the urgency of the situation, Mr. Secretary General, I come to request the transformation of the MMSS into a peacekeeping mission as soon as possible,” Voltaire added.
Earlier this week, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that repeated attacks by armed groups targeting the neighborhoods of Solino, Fort National, and Delmas 24 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area are having a devastating impact on civilians.
OCHA said that since October 17, several people have reportedly been killed in these areas, including a child who was shot.
The United States government has also “strongly” condemned the ongoing gang violence, which it says is aimed at “destabilising” the government in Haiti.
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