NEW YORK, USA — Kenya is making a last-ditch push at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to rally global support for its embattled security mission in Haiti, warning that the intervention could collapse without stronger international backing.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi, who arrived in New York on Thursday, said Nairobi’s agenda at this year’s high-level gathering is focused on peace and security.
While he stopped short of naming Haiti in his opening statement, diplomats say lobbying for the mission remains at the heart of Kenya’s diplomacy this week.
“Kenya will be championing peace and security in Africa and beyond, including conflict prevention, mediation, and peacekeeping efforts,” Mudavadi said.
The Haiti mission — deployed to crack down on gangs and restore order in Port-au-Prince — has struggled with inadequate funding and limited logistical support.
Washington, once its main backer, has scaled down its commitment, while contributions to the UN-administered trust fund have fallen short of expectations.
The uncertainty has left Nairobi increasingly exposed, both financially and militarily.
Kenya has already suffered casualties in the deployment, heightening calls at home and abroad for the operation to be converted into a formal UN peacekeeping mission.
Such a shift would guarantee stable financing and logistical support under the UN system, but the Security Council has so far declined to take that step.
The mission’s current mandate runs out in October, leaving its future hanging in the balance.
For Nairobi, the stakes are high: what was meant to be a flagship example of African-led intervention could instead unravel into a cautionary tale about the limits of regional leadership without global buy-in.
