In order to address the humanitarian crisis in Haiti in the wake of the assassination of their president in 2021, Jovenel Moïse, the U.N. has backed a Kenya-led mission to send military and police personnel to Haiti to fight gang control and facilitate the organization of a democratic election. This international assistance was requested in 2022. Kenya pledged 1000 personnel and has deployed 400 so far; Jamaica has pledged 200 personnel and has deployed 24 at this time. Other countries have also indicated plans to send personnel.
On Sept. 18, Haiti has formed a council to begin planning to hold a formal election in 2025.
This brings up a question about the role of foreign interference in conflicts within a country. Part of the reason Haiti went from being one of the wealthiest colonies to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is because of its history of colonization and foreign interference. Now, however, Haiti is forced to request help from other nations to restore order. Additionally, something that stood out to me about this story is that the mission is being led by Kenya, who didn’t previously have any political or economic ties to Haiti. This article I read suggests that it’s representative of the direction Kenya is going in terms of global leadership — they’re seeking to give voice to African interests in these sorts of conversations and become leaders in their own right. It’s interesting to see how powers may be evolving and shifting as we move forward, especially with the shifts we’re seeing in those larger, world powers.
Assuming all the countries do, in fact, follow through on the personnel they’ve pledged (either officially or unofficially), I think that the mission should continue as planned. Haiti is in no state to support itself at this time — and, honestly, might not be for the foreseeable future. It needs all the support it can get. Additionally, I do think this is a good move for Kenya to be heading this mission — Haiti has cultural ties back to Africa, so championing this cause is a good look for Kenya. My fear in this situation, however, is that when (inevitably) these countries decide to withdrawal, Haiti will just fall back into disrepair again. However, it’s difficult to ask a country to promise a significant level of support for an indefinite amount of time — at a certain point, one has to value their own interests. The best approach, then, is to split the contributions across countries (as they already have). But then, the more people you have to rely on, the more issues can come up (communication, transportation).
The United Nations is an Intergovernmental Organization tasked with maintaining international peace and security. The gangs taking control of Haiti are also global actors — criminal groups.