Kenya says a multinational security force will be deployed in Haiti “within a short time” after the UN voted to back the East African nation’s offer to lead the mission.
“This mandate is not only about peace and security, but also about the rebuilding of Haiti,” Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Alfred Mutua said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He called on international partners to help Kenya put together an effective multinational support mission “that within a short time, will be in Haiti changing lives”.
Late on Monday, the UN Security Council overwhelmingly approved the deployment of the Kenyan-led international force to help combat widespread gang violence in Haiti.
The resolution was approved with 13 votes in favour and two abstentions from China and Russia.
Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Généus applauded Monday’s vote, terming it “an expression of solidarity with a population in distress”.
It is still not clear how big the force will be but Kenya has proposed sending 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean nation. The Bahamas, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda have said they will take part in the mission.
Mr Mutua told the BBC that he expected the force to be in place by the beginning of next year, “if not before then”.