US seeks to replace Kenya as Haiti mission lead

The United States has given its strongest indication yet that it intends for a new international force to take over from the Kenyan-led multinational security support mission in Haiti.

This follows a phone call between President William Ruto and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, where Kenya lobbied for the adoption of proposals made by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for the UN to provide logistical support to the mission.

Kenya may be providing the bulk of manpower for the multinational security support (MSS) mission in Haiti, but the United States is providing the financial muscle.

Since the first deployment of Kenyan police a year ago to secure critical infrastructure, the UN has warned that Haiti is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with the capital, Port-au-Prince, on the brink of complete gang takeover.

The MSS mission has been severely undermined by a shortfall in personnel, intelligence, equipment and security infrastructure.

The US has, in the meantime, urged the Organisation of American States, which it heavily funds, to take on a leading role and for the region to step up its security and stabilisation efforts.

"The US thanks Kenya for its dedication for the last year. We must ensure that an even greater share of the international community is invested in the fight. We will also seek robust regional participation to provide strategic leadership of the force. We note the next international force must be adequately resourced," said US deputy chief of mission OAS, Kimberly Penland.

Marco Rubio had hinted at the development when he appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May.

"We are seeking to come up with an alternative strategy because Haiti is heading in a bad direction. The OAS has not led a mission since 1965. Why would we have an OAS if it cannot deal with Haiti? This is one example of something I would like us to lead on and that is to get organisations like OAS to step forward and provide a mission to deal with Haiti," stated Rubio, a move which would see Kenya relinquish its leadership role.