Kenya, Haiti Sign 'reciprocal' Accord On Police Deployment

Kenya and Haiti signed a "reciprocal" agreement on Friday to deploy police from the East African country to lead a UN-backed law and order mission to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation, Kenyan President William Ruto said

Nairobi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) Kenya and Haiti signed a "reciprocal" agreement on Friday to deploy police from the East African country to lead a UN-backed law and order mission to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation, Kenyan President William Ruto said.

Ruto said he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry had "discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment", but it was not immediately clear whether the agreement would counter a court ruling in January that branded the deployment "illegal".

Haiti's government has pleaded for international help to confront violence that has cost thousands of lives, as armed gangs take over entire swathes of the country, leaving the economy and public health system in tatters.

Kenya had previously said that it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, an offer welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground.

But a Nairobi court said the decision was unconstitutional, in part because the two countries had not signed a reciprocal agreement on the issue.

On Friday, Ruto said he and Henry had "witnessed the signing" of a reciprocal agreement in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Details of the document have not been made public.

"I take this opportunity to reiterate Kenya's commitment to contribute to the success of this multinational mission. We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole," Ruto said in a statement.

The UN Security Council had approved the multinational mission in early October but the Kenyan court ruling threw its future into doubt.

Opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who had filed the petition against the deployment, told AFP on Friday that he would lodge a case "for contempt of court".

"What is emerging is that William Ruto does not care about the rule of law or the constitution of this country," he said.

"We will question the validity of this secretive agreement."