Haiti and the Haiti Sanctions Committee: Statement During Briefing

Thank you

We thank Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, SRSG Helen La Lime, the Chair of the Haiti Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Michel Xavier Biang, and Mr. Kim Ives, the editor of Haiti Liberté for their briefings.

We also welcome the participation of H.E Jean Victor Geneus, Haiti Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, and H.E. Roberto Álvarez Gil, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.

Kenya endorses the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti statement that will be given by Ambassador Bob Rae.

Madam President,

Looking back at the last two years, the situation in Haiti has gone from bad to worse. At the root of the crisis is a governance deficit that must be addressed. This deficit is the outcome of an outrageous history of economic punishment for Haiti's revolution against slavery and colonialism. It has been worsened by failed foreign interventions, and the unholy alliance between gangs, politicians and business elites.

Such is the scale of the immediate emergency, it often obscures how critical it is to address these root causes if Haiti is to truly recover. We therefore urge members of the Security Council, and the International Community, to ensure that action with, and for, Haiti concurrently deploy emergency measures alongside more structural efforts that provide credible, competent and responsible governance.

Madam President,

In the short term, Haitians need more operational support for the brave and dedicated Haitian National Police. The HNP should receive training, adequate equipment, and capabilities that it may not yet possess in adequate quantities. The focus should be to make it able to guarantee the safe and reliable provision of emergency supplies of food, fuel and health care. It should also put a stop to the kidnappings and the control of roads and other critical infrastructure by gangs.

Without such action to establish a floor to Haitian misery, a transition to better governance and credible elections will not succeed. We commend Canada, the United States and other international partners for their efforts so far to assist the HNP with training and equipment. More such support is still needed.

We welcome the request by the Government of Haiti for multinational support that provides targeted assistance to the HNP; and support for vetting, intelligence and rapid deployment. Kenya is ready to contribute to such an effort.

Our assessment of the gangs, and their links with transnational crime, political patronage and their recruitment of the young unemployed, suggests that they operate like the militias that the Security Council is familiar with. Experience shows that they can be overcome by coordinating mediation, a credible political process, a strong enforcement capability, livelihood support, and institutional support.

On this last aspect about institutions, it is crucial that immediate support be given in strengthening the most important sections of the criminal justice system that are required by an active police service. This includes addressing prolonged pretrial detentions, expediting court cases and establishing functioning court registries.

Added to these efforts, the Haiti Sanctions Committee should closely align its listings to cause maximum disruption to the nexus between transnational crime, illicit business and the gangs. The UN and the international community will also need to support Haiti to implement the National Action Plan for the CARICOM Roadmap on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition.

A new intervention backed by the Security Council should learn valuable lessons from the past without repeating the disastrous mistakes. It would have a clear scope of tasks, concept of operations and an exit strategy. Further, to gain the confidence of the Haitian people, it would consider including key African and Caribbean contributions.

Madam President,

The actions I have recommended are necessary but insufficient. For them to succeed and for a newly optimistic Haiti to be reborn, root causes need to be addressed. One is an inclusive political transition that is committed to a national dialogue that delivers political reforms embedded in a new legal (and even possibly constitutional) dispensation. International financial institutions should align their work in Haiti to the efforts to provide security, a political transition, to strengthen critical governance institutions, and provide environmental crisis recovery.

The authorities in Haiti should also consider engaging the Peacebuilding Commission and undertaking a nationally-owned and inclusive process alongside the political transition.

Next for consideration is a neutral and transparent inquiry into the international and historical dimensions of the multigenerational crises the Haitian people have suffered. It should offer recommendations for the International Community and Haiti on a way forward.

Madam President,

From the beginning of this period as a member of the Security Council, Kenya has engaged vigorously and in good faith on this file. Our sense of fairness and inclusion has impelled us, and we have also paid heed to the African Union's recognition of the need to reconnect with the African diaspora. We have tried listening keenly to Haitians on the Haiti they want. We have worked with the A3+1 in 2021, the A3 this year, alongside other Council members to strengthen BINUH and apply sanctions to the gangs and those who support and fund them, illegal arms trafficking and money laundering.

This being the last scheduled briefing before the end of our present term, allow me to reflect on what we have learned about how the Council can best be of service to Haiti.

All conflict, and especially political division, leads to exceptional levels of division and mistrust. Such mistrust can be identified in today's briefings. In Africa, the dynamics of internal economic and political crises and mistrust of external intervention are familiar. What Africa has built, Haiti needs.

That is to be part of a strong regional initiative that includes Haiti's Neighbour and the CARICOM region. Our linkage with peer leaders, the use of regional consultations and the rallying of international support have served us well. Africa's peace and security architecture has valuable lessons that I am certain African countries and institutions would be willing to share.

From mediation, local peace work, anti militia demobilisation and reintegration, we have experience.

Haiti inspired a worldwide movement of freedom. Its revolutionary actions even led directly to major developments in the establishment of our host country (USA). Now we urge Haiti to look to the rest of its region and Africa for inspiration.

Kenya will continue to support Haiti bilaterally and in the multilateral arena, including the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti and other relevant forums.

Thank you