By Robert A. Emmanuel
Defence Force boss Colonel Telbert Benjamin has pledged Antigua and Barbuda’s backing to the UN resolution to send a multinational security mission to the fellow Caribbean nation of Haiti.
Antigua and Barbuda is among a handful of countries in the region – along with Jamaica, the Bahamas and Suriname – that have promised to send military personnel to help restore law and order in the crisis-hit nation.
Last Friday, on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Gaston Browne joined his Caricom colleagues in participating in discussions held by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti.
The meeting provided a platform for high-level discussions on strategies to support Haiti in its path toward stability, prosperity, and effective governance.
“This is all a part of the entire Caricom arrangement; it is really preparatory in anticipation of the completion of discussions.
“Provision will be made by the government that, when and where the discussions would have gotten at that stage, that we are prepared to send soldiers to support the resolution,” Colonel Benjamin told Observer yesterday.
It is not yet known how many soldiers will go – or when they will depart.
Colonel Benjamin said regardless of the fine operational details that will be ironed out at the UN and inter-governmental level, the Defence Force is prepared to support in any capacity it can.
“What has been determined as a country, we will be supporting the resolution whether it be from the level of the staff to support the headquarters or whether it is from the level of soldiers who are on the ground,” the Chief of Defence Staff added.
The meeting was attended by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who thanked the Caribbean nations for joining Kenya in this initiative.
“As the Haitian National Police works to get to full strength and capacity, security assistance from international partners can play a critical bridging role.
“That’s why the United States supports the UN-backed multinational security support mission. The government of Haiti, Haitian civil society, the UN Secretary General, the Organization of American States, Caricom, and other international partners have each called for such a mission.
“The proposal for this mission now before the UN Security Council is designed to be truly multinational in its resourcing and nature. It requires a collective effort if it’s going to succeed. And already, countries around the world are stepping up,” Blinken said on Friday.
Kenyan President William Ruto has urged the United Nations to move expeditiously to approve the mission, proposed and headed by his country, as Haiti spirals further into decline.
In July, Kenya volunteered to lead a multinational police intervention to train and assist Haitian police as Haitian authorities and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres have, for months, called for a security mission to the island.
Among its proposed objectives, Kenya hopes to provide backing to Haitian police to fight criminal gangs, and ensure the static safety of pivotal installations and routes.
Haiti has been in turmoil since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. It is currently facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with persistent political instability, rising inflation and recurring disasters.
