Guterres said in the letter that the U.N. office he proposes could help strengthen Haiti’s National Police and help gather, store and share sensitive information related to operations, as well as provide a joint operations center, GIS support and surveillance via drones.
In turn, Guterres said BINUH, the latest U.N. political mission in Haiti, could focus on priorities including designing programs to help children and women forced to join gangs defect from them, as well as support authorities in the arrests and prosecutions of “high-risk individuals.”.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is proposing opening a U.N. office that would provide drones, fuel, ground and air transportation and other non-lethal support to a Kenyan-led mission in Haiti struggling to fight gangs, according to a letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Guterres noted in his letter that while the mission has reached 1,000 personnel, the vast majority of them Kenyan police, it still only represents 40% of the 2,500 personnel envisioned.
The Security Council previously extended the U.N.-backed mission in Haiti led by Kenyan police to October of this year even as the U.S. and other countries warn it is lacking personnel and funding.
