This Thursday, September 5, 2024, the American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is expected in Haiti. This is the first trip to Haiti by a head of American diplomacy since 2015.

Pierre Antoine Louis, a specialist in international relations, believes that Blinken's visit is important in the context, recalling that the Secretary of State only travels if there is an important problem in the eyes of the United States...

Blinken will meet at the United States Embassy in Port-au-Prince with Edgard Leblanc Fils, the President of the Transitional Council, and Prime Minister Garry Conille "[...] to discuss forthcoming steps in Haiti’s democratic transition and U.S. support to the Haitian people through humanitarian assistance and Haitian-led stabilization efforts. He will also meet with leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission, emphasizing U.S. support to reestablish security in Haiti while also underscoring the significance of promoting respect for human rights,” explained State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.

The United States, which provides the majority of funding for the Kenya-led support operation, no longer rules out changing the mandate of this force to a UN-led peacekeeping operation in Haiti as one way to secure funding and personnel for the mission. It seems easier for the US to release billions for Ukraine than a few hundred million for Haiti...

However, the UN Security Council should first vote on a peacekeeping mission in Haiti, but experts believe that it is unlikely that the Security Council will support such a resolution (opposed by China and Russia). They also add that Haitians would probably oppose it, given the negative history of the years of presence of the Peace Mission and the lack of results...

A vote in the Security Council on the renewal of the authorization of the multinational security support mission is scheduled for September 30, 2024.

On Friday, Blinken will continue his tour in the Dominican Republic to meet with President Luis Abinader.

S/ HaitiLibre