The United States has provided Kenyan soldiers with extensive training opportunities. However, there is no evidence that he has stopped abuses committed by Nairobi security forces in his country or in Somalia.
The United States is preparing a UN Security Council resolution to authorize Kenya to send its soldiers to Haiti. Washington believes Nairobi can help Port-au-Prince restore order to the gang-controlled area. Joe Biden’s administration said American taxpayers would foot the bill for the deployment and that American soldiers would train Kenyan forces.
For a year, the White House has been looking for a third country that can send its soldiers to Haiti as UN peacekeepers. After Canada resisted American pressure to lead the force, Nairobi agreed to send its troops to the Caribbean nation.
The AP notes that some Haitians oppose the deployment of UN soldiers from Kenya. In 2010, UN troops discharged wastewater, causing a cholera outbreak that killed nearly 10,000 Haitians. In addition, Kenyan soldiers have been credibly accused of war crimes in Somalia, where Nairobi conducted military operations in the name of counterterrorism.
The Kenya-based Independent Medico-Legal Unit released a report this month warning that Kenyan police are committing increasing human rights abuses since President William Ruto took office.
The United States has provided Kenyan soldiers with extensive training opportunities. However, there is no evidence that he has stopped abuses committed by Nairobi security forces in his country or in Somalia.
In his speech to the General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Biden called on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution allowing Kenya to send troops to Haiti. “When it comes to Haiti, Caribbean communities have facilitated dialogue within Haitian society. I thank President Ruto of Kenya; “I thank you for your willingness to serve as the lead nation of a United Nations-backed security assistance mission,” he said. “I ask the Security Council to authorize this mission now. The people of Haiti can’t wait much longer.”
On Wednesday, Ruto met Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry at an official ceremony commemorating Washington’s plan to send Kenyan troops to Port-au-Prince. Washington says it will fund the missions and train peacekeepers.
The security situation in Haiti has changed since Henry took office in Port-au-Prince. After the assassination of former leader Jovernal Moise in July 2021, Henry seized power in the Caribbean nation. The United States supported Henry’s rise to power and has since been named as a conspirator in Moise’s assassination.
Haiti’s prime minister has supported foreign intervention in his country despite a history of human rights abuses committed by UN peacekeepers. UN soldiers are notorious for having sexual relationships with underage girls and leaving the women without financial support.
