The United Nations Security Council has approved sending a group of international forces with weapons to Haiti. This is because Haiti is dealing with a lot of gang violence and a situation where the government cannot make decisions.
The Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, has repeatedly asked for military help, and now a decision has been made to provide this assistance. The United Nations leader and the United States both strongly ask the global community for support with this mission.
Thirteen people in the council voted “yes” to the resolution, but Russia and China didn’t vote either way.
Even though the strong UN Security Council approved it, the force would not officially be controlled by the UN. Kenya has promised to contribute 1000 police officers to lead the mission. Some of the countries near Haiti, like Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica, have also agreed to help with the mission.
The “multinational security support” force will stay in Haiti for one year. We don’t know when it will arrive yet and more countries have been asked to join. The resolution also asks for a worldwide halt in selling weapons to Haiti, except for specific security reasons that are approved.
An advisor to the Haitian Prime Minister, Jean-Junior Joseph, said to CNN that the government is happy about the vote. He also mentioned that they are eager for the mission to fight against overall insecurity.
Fighting gangs are in charge of a big part of Port-au-Prince, which is the main city and port of Haiti. This is causing problems because they are blocking important ways to bring supplies to the rest of the country. Gang members have made the people in the city very scared. This has caused about 200,000 people to leave their homes because of the bad things the gang members are doing, like killing, kidnapping, setting things on fire, and hurting people.
The mission is expected to make local security stronger and help the Haitian National Police fight against the gangs. Haiti’s security forces get help from other countries, but they don’t have enough staff or weapons to effectively do their job.
Addressing the gathering of leaders from countries around the world at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September Prime Minister Henry told other countries that it was really important that the Security Council gives approval for a military mission to bring back calm and order. Henry said that violence has made the situation worse in the country. He also mentioned that inflation is very high, with prices going up by more than 50%. As a result, 4. 9 million Haitians are finding it difficult to afford food, which is a new and disappointing record for the country.
In a statement on the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked for help from other countries to support the plan and provide assistance. He said that the US is willing to give strong financial and logistical support.
The Security Council has been stuck in a situation where no decisions can be made because of growing disagreements between different countries. The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that the decision on Haiti made on Monday was very important and showed that the UN can bring people together to take action.
China’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun said that China has a careful and responsible approach when it comes to using force. In the case of Haiti, China’s decision to abstain from the vote on authorizing the use of force is seen as a positive and helpful stance.
Russia’s representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, criticized the decision to send another country’s armed forces to a different country, even if it is requested by that country. He said this is a serious action that needs to be carefully considered. However, he also mentioned that there are some good parts to the approved resolution.
Both Russia and China said they are okay with the resolution’s ban on weapons.
People that disagree with the mission have said that bad things have happened before with UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti. There were accusations that some peacekeepers did bad things and that they brought a sickness called cholera that killed a lot of people. Some Haitians are unsure about Prime Minister Henry, who became the leader of the country when President Jovenel Moise was killed in 2021.
Henry stated that Haiti cannot hold elections until the country becomes more secure.
The United Nations’ representative in Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, said that her office will help with the mission, as long as it follows the rules. She also made it clear that this mission is different from other missions in Haiti and is not run by the UN.
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