Guyanese police to be deployed to Haiti

Last Updated on Tuesday, 3 October 2023, 17:52 by Denis Chabrol

An unspecified number of Guyanese police are to be deployed to Haiti to assist with the training of Haitian police as part of a United Nations-backed mission to take back the country from violent gangs and pave the way for long-overdue elections, according to well-placed sources.

The number of Guyanese police has not yet been finalised, the United Nations Security Council having only Monday night passed a resolution for the Kenya-led mission.

Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Omar Khan, said Guyana’s response as part of a multinational effort would be based on a number of factors. “Guyana’s participation in such an arrangement will be determined as per discussion with our other partners and guided by the logistical, training and expert services unique to each Force,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.

In August, United States (US) Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti, Barbara A. Feinstein had said a number of Eastern Caribbean nations would likely to send English to French Creole translators to Haiti as part of a Kenya-led United Nations-backed multinational force. Dominican and St Lucians are the two French Creole-speaking peoples who can easily communicate with Haitians.

Guyana’s Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud said that on Monday, Guyana was among four non-members of the United Nations Security Council that participated and spoke, joining Haiti, Kenya and Jamaica (for the Caribbean Community) on the adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti. He noted that the United States, United Kingdom and France voted in favour of the resolution while China and Russia abstained.