BDF troops await the green light for the peacekeeping mission in Haiti

TSecurity forces remain on standby as Barbados awaits formal approval from Haiti’s newly installed transitional council before joining a multinational peacekeeping mission to the conflict-torn country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds said on Friday that the Barbadian contingent should wait until an official request is received. “No formal request has yet been received from the new government. As previously stated, we cannot do anything until requested,” said Symmonds Barbados TODAY.

“Barbados has expressed its intention to participate under the umbrella of CARICOM’s sub-regional security system, once approval for the deployment of that service has been given. That remains our intention. However, the Regional Security System (RSS), if mobilized, is intended to become part of the broader multinational security force, if and when that larger multinational force is ultimately deployed.”

Last month he had said a security contingent was ready to help restore law and order in Haiti, where gangs have taken power in the absence of a functioning government.

Haiti recently opened a new political chapter with the creation of a transitional council charged with appointing a prime minister and preparing for possible presidential elections in hopes of quelling spiraling gang violence that has claimed thousands of lives.

But earlier this month, days after the announcement of a new prime minister, gangs launched new attacks, laying siege to several neighborhoods in the capital, burning houses and exchanging gunfire with police for hours. This was one of the biggest attacks since the appointment of the new Prime Minister. .

In a related development, Kenyan President William Ruto, whose country will lead the United Nations-backed multinational peacekeeping force of which Barbados is a part, has pledged the deployment of a thousand police officers to support the efforts. He is currently on a three-day state visit to the United States, which started on Thursday.

In Haiti, the country’s main airport reopened this week, nearly three months after gang violence forced its closure.

Symmonds had also said Kenya had signaled its intention, following the wave of gang violence in late February and the more recent resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, to await the installation of a new authority in Haiti before making final decisions on deployment. .

The President’s Transitional Council consists of seven voting members and two non-voting observers from civil society and the interfaith community. The council’s job will be to urgently select and appoint a prime minister and then appoint a new council of ministers together with that prime minister.

“After that,” Symmonds added, “the transitional council will also need to oversee the establishment of a national security council and make arrangements for the peaceful transfer of government authority through free and fair elections.”

It is expected that the appointment of the new interim Prime Minister and a Cabinet, together with a National Security Council, will provide the necessary legal authority to guide and anchor any cooperative efforts to be undertaken in conjunction with a multinational security force.

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