The United States’ top diplomat to the United Nations arrives in Port-au-Prince on Monday to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to aid amid Haiti’s humanitarian crisis, human rights abuses, and food insecurity. Haiti has been struggling with gang violence and efforts to restore constitutional order and political transition.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield “will make two major announcements during the trip” to support efforts to address the security and humanitarian emergency, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters.
Thomas-Greenfield’s trip to the Caribbean nation follows the unanimous vote by all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council on July 12 to renew the mandate of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, or BINUH, for another year, until July 15, 2025.
Last week, 200 additional Kenyan police arrived in Haiti to bolster a U.N.-backed deployment of a multinational security support, or MSS, mission to fight criminal gangs. The officers arrived nearly a month after the first contingent of 200 landed in Port-au-Prince, where gangs control at least 80% of the territory.
The U.S. has provided more than $300 million to the MSS mission to help Haitians improve security conditions. The U.S. also encourages Haiti’s interim government and the transitional Presidential Council to continue making progress toward a democratic transition, including through free and fair elections.
Another senior U.S. official said that Washington and other nations will continue their efforts to “put names forward” and sanction individuals responsible for enabling gang violence in Haiti.
The U.S. has expressed its disappointment over an “unexplained hold” placed by the U.N. Security Council on a proposal to list Youri Latortue, a former Haitian Senate president, for alleged arming and financial links to gangs.
“It’s important for the council to send a very strong message that those individuals who are not contributing to the betterment of Haiti” must face the consequences for their “nefarious activities,” the official said.
While in Haiti, the U.S. delegation will visit the multinational training mission’s life support area, a complex that includes living quarters, a hospital training center, and a water treatment plant.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield will hold talks with Haitian officials, including Prime Minister Garry Conille and members of the Transitional Presidential Council. She will also meet with U.N. representatives on the ground and engage with civil society organizations.
