New York, US – President William Ruto held high-level talks with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, focusing on Haiti’s worsening security crisis and opportunities for deeper economic ties between the two nations.
The two leaders, who met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, jointly called for urgent UN action to establish a dedicated Gang Suppression Force and a UN Support Office for Haiti to enhance logistics for the ongoing multinational mission.
Secretary of State Rubio met with Kenyan President Ruto on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Secretary lauded Kenya’s brave contributions to Haiti’s peace and security, read a statement from US Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
The statement added: “Both Secretary Rubio and President Ruto emphasized the need for urgent action at the UN to establish a Gang Suppression Force and UN Support Office for Haiti to combat gangs and set Haiti back on the path towards stability.”
Ruto has recently expressed frustration over the lack of adequate global support for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, in which Kenyan troops lead efforts to stabilize Haiti. He revealed that Kenyan forces were supplied with second-hand vehicles, many of which broke down in gang-controlled zones, and disclosed that plans to establish 12 forward operating bases had stalled, allowing armed groups to retake lost ground.
With less than two weeks to the expiry of Kenya’s mandate in Haiti, the US is now pushing to double foreign troop levels to over 5,000 and is reportedly considering shifting overall command away from Kenya.
So far, the deployment has managed to restore relative calm only in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while gangs continue to wreak havoc across much of the Caribbean nation.
Separately, in a speech to the UN General Assembly, President Ruto accused global powers of sidelining Africa in international decision-making, particularly at the UN Security Council.
“Africa will no longer accept being treated as an observer on issues that directly impact its people and its future,” Ruto declared, calling for reforms to the global governance architecture to give the continent greater representation and voice.
