Africa: Kenya and the USA Sign Defense Agreement to support mission in Haiti
The United States and Kenya have signed a defense agreement aimed at supporting security deployments in Haiti. Kenya will lead a multinational peacekeeping mission in Haiti to combat gang violence.
This defense agreement, signed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Kenyan Defense Minister Aden Duale, outlines the defense relations between the two countries for the next five years.
The United States commits to providing $100 million in funding for this mission. While Kenya has been praised for its commitment to global security, its decision to deploy 1,000 security personnel for this mission in Haiti has raised concerns among human rights activists due to past human rights violations during security operations.
«Signing the framework for defence cooperation between our two countries today reinforces the importance of our strategic partnership with Kenya», Austin said following the meeting, according to a readout by the Pentagon.
Some security experts also point out the potential language barrier between Kenya, which speaks English and Swahili, and the Haitian population, whose official languages are French and Creole.
Let’s recall that in October of last year, Haiti’s de facto leader, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, called on the international community to help set up a “specialised armed force” to quell the violence.
Pedro OKALAMAR
