Russia has called for more support for the Kenyan police in Haiti, a day after rejecting a United States-led proposal to turn the Kenya-led police mission in Haiti into a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operation.
In a statement on Friday, November 22, Russia through its deputy permanent representative to the UN stated that the Haitian police and the Kenyan contingent in Port-au-Prince remain the only forces countering criminal gangs at present.
“The current tragic events in Haiti demonstrate that irrespective of our decision on the format of a future international presence in the country, Haitians do need urgent assistance, right now,” Russia said.
“We believe it is of paramount importance to provide the necessary logistical and financial assistance to them, otherwise there will be simply no one left to ‘host’ Haiti’s future peacekeepers.”
Russia Calls for More Support for Kenyan Police in Haiti
Russia mentioned that it is unfortunate that all of the achievements made since the spring of this year have been rolled back.
“The airport is closed again, the areas that were cleared of gangs are once again under the control of criminal elements, and hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes,” Russia noted.
“Moreover, violence and the security vacuum have spilled over far beyond the Haitian capital.”
The permanent representative went on to state that the problems and uncertainties highlighted a year ago have now become insurmountable obstacles to the mission’s work.
Russia stated that the time is ripe for UN Security Council members to engage in a frank and open discussion about the mission’s effectiveness, its prospects, and their expectations regarding its work.
“This will be fair vis-a-vis the Haitians, who are increasingly despondent about international support, and vis-a-vis the Kenyans, who have selflessly decided to help the Afro-Caribbean nation, expecting in turn the international community to deliver on the pledges regarding financial assistance,” it noted.
“It would be simply irresponsible to start talking about adapting the mandate or transforming the Mission without identifying the challenges faced by its predecessor and ways to address them.”
Also Read: China, Russia Oppose Kenya-Led Haiti Mission
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US Proposal of Mission to Peace Keeping Rejected
During a UN Security Council briefing, Russia and China opposed the proposed transformation of the mission, as outlined in a draft resolution submitted by Ecuador and the United States.
Russia also opined that the “conditions ‘on the ground’ in Haiti are not suitable for UN peacekeepers, as their duty is to maintain peace, rather than to fight crime in an urban environment or to ‘rescue’ a dysfunctional state that is falling apart due to the internal conflict.
“If, as some members of the Security Council believe, there is a need for the Secretariat to provide a new comprehensive report with updated views and proposals, we are ready to discuss the optimal form and content of such a request from the Council, without any preliminary assessments or hasty decisions,” it said.
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“It would be also inappropriate to speak of a full-fledged request from the host Government, since the country has long had no constitutional authorities, and the legitimacy of the transition authorities is – to put it mildly – highly questionable, because they are mired in internal squabbles.”
Russia also emphasized that the fate of Haiti must be decided by the Haitians themselves and not by any external forces.
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