The US State Department issued a statement on March 9 saying that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto about the Haiti crisis. The two sides highlighted their commitment to deploy a multinational security mission to restore order in the Caribbean country.
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| US, Kenya highlight commitment to deploy security mission in Haiti. (Source: Straitstimes) |
The US Secretary of State and the Kenyan President “underscored their consistent commitment to the deployment of the Multinational Security Assistance Mission” in Haiti. However, the US State Department statement did not provide further information on the content of the exchange or the timing of the event.
Haiti declared a state of emergency on March 3 after violence escalated, while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Nairobi, Kenya, seeking agreement on the deployment of a long-delayed United Nations (UN) mission.
Last year, Kenya announced it would lead a multinational police force in Haiti, but legal complications at home have stalled plans to deploy the mission.
Earlier, on March 8, the head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) María Isabel Salvador asked the Security Council to take urgent action to address the serious security crisis in the country.
Speaking at a closed-door session, Salvador highlighted the “unprecedented” levels of violence and the threats posed by criminal gangs in Haiti. The BINUH chief called for the immediate deployment of a “multinational security assistance mission” to Haiti, led by Kenya.
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