Harare — The United States and Kenya have struck a defense pact that will provide Kenya with funding and support for security deployments following Kenya's voluntary offer to lead an international mission to violent Haiti, Al Jazeera reports.
The agreement, which will govern the nations' defense cooperation for the next five years, was signed on Monday, September 25, during a meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Kenya's Defence Minister Aden Duale.
"Signing the framework for defence cooperation between our two countries today reinforces the importance of our strategic partnership with Kenya," Austin is reported to have said, following the meeting.
Austin emphasised Kenya's contribution to the struggle against Al-Shabaab, which operates in East Africa and is linked to Al-Qaeda. In addition, he expressed gratitude to the Kenyan government for offering to lead a proposed multinational force to Haiti, which has been trying to deal with months of growing gang violence.
The majority of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, is controlled by gangs, and Haitians are subjected to a torrent of attacks, including kidnappings for ransom and sexual violence. Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
In October 2022, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the de facto president of Haiti, requested assistance from the international community in setting up a "specialised armed force" to put an end to the bloodshed. The U.S. and the UN supported the idea of sending an international mission to Haiti, but a deployment has been delayed for months since no nation has volunteered to head the operation.
A number of human rights advocates have also questioned the possibility of foreign intervention, claiming that previous missions have done more harm than good, and have urged governments to put sufficient protection measures in place. Kenya however said in July 2023, that it was ready to lead a "multinational force" in Haiti if the UN Security Council gave permission to do so. The mission's goal would be to assist the Haitian police in their efforts to "restore normalcy" by providing training and support.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pleaded with the UN Security Council to approve the mission, saying it would be prepared for deployment "in months."
Blinken added that the projected deployment will get "robust financial and logistical assistance" from Washington. Kenya has promised to provide 1,000 security personnel to Haiti. However, human rights advocates have voiced their concerns over the deployment, pointing to a pattern of violations of human rights during security operations in Kenya.
