Haiti

The leader of the multinational force led by Kenya tasked with curbing gang violence in Haiti expressed determination Monday to ensure democratic elections and prevent further instability in the country.

Maria Isabel Salvador, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti, briefed ambassadors at the Security Council, highlighting the installation of the Transitional Presidential Council in April and the swearing-in of an interim Prime Minister and new government in June as “clear indications of progress.” 

Hundreds of Kenyan police officers departed for Haiti on Monday to lead a multinational force aimed at combating powerful gangs responsible for a surge in deadly violence this year. … The initial group of 400 officers is part of the 1,000 that Kenya plans to send to Haiti for the United Nations-led force. 

Overriding Republican opposition in Congress, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has ordered the release of $109 million in US funds to pay for a UN-approved and Kenyan-led police support mission tasked with reining in rampant gangs and restoring order in Haiti. … Eight other countries have pledged to contribute personnel: The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad, Jamaica, and Suriname.

A team of Haitian police commanders on Tuesday met Kenya's inspector general of police ahead of a planned deployment to the violence-hit Caribbean country expected to take place by the end of June. … The deployment that was set to take place in May was postponed to allow completion of bases from which the officers will operate and the procurement of key equipment, including vehicles.

The number of internally displaced people in Haiti has risen 60% since March, when armed gangs took control of the capital, the United Nations migration agency reported Tuesday. … The IOM reported 578,074 internally displaced people across Haiti, a 60% increase from 362,551 in early March. Haiti is a nation of 11.9 million people.

Haiti's transitional council appointed a new Cabinet on Tuesday, marking the final step in rebuilding the government that will lead a country under siege by gangs. … Carlos Hercules, the attorney for Prime Minister Garry Conille, was appointed as minister of justice and public security. Conille himself will be interior minister. Jean Marc Berthier Antoine will be defense minister. 

The number of people going hungry in Haiti has reached record levels amid ongoing gang violence, the head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) there said on Wednesday in the capital, Port-au-Prince. 

U.N. development specialist Garry Conille was named Haiti's new prime minister Tuesday evening, nearly a month after a coalition within a fractured transitional council sought to choose someone else for the position. 

A senior Kenyan official who declined to be named as they are not the official spokesperson said the bases are still under construction and crucial resources including vehicles are needed before deployment of the first 200 police officers from Kenya can take place.