Amnesty International’s concern over Kenya’s police deployment to Haiti
Amnesty International expresses concerns over the proposed deployment of Kenyan police officers to help deal with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti.
The Haitian government has requested assistance from Kenya to temporarily support the Haitian National Police (PNH) in the fight against insecurity caused by gang violence.
Renzo Pomi, Amnesty International’s representative to the United Nations, has written to Kenya’s Security Council requesting that certain issues be addressed before the civil society group can endorse the deployment.
Pomi noted that there is a troubling history of abuse and impunity associated with past multinational or foreign interventions in Haiti, including the cholera outbreak, sexual exploitation and abuse without accountability, and excessive use of the force.
He said the lack of accountability and access to justice for victims of these abuses is alarming.
Pomi asserted that any deployment of foreign security forces must include clear, mandatory and enforceable parameters to prevent illegal use of force, negligence resulting in harm to local populations and any other abuses committed by individuals deployed in the framework of any multinational effort.
“It must also include clear measures to protect individuals from sexual exploitation and abuse,” Pomi added.
He stressed that mechanisms to guarantee the rights of local populations and provide accessible and effective remedies to victims, including in cases of sexual exploitation, abuse and resulting care of children, must be in place before any deployment.
Pomi said the human rights record of any country’s security forces deployed to help bring stability to Haiti should be carefully evaluated.
“Accordingly, we emphasize the importance of fully reviewing the human rights record of the Kenyan security forces before approving their deployment to Haiti,” Pomi said.
Additionally, he noted that Amnesty International recently condemned the continued use of unlawful force against protesters.
Pomi said excessive and deadly use of force has led to an increase in deaths and injuries, both among adults and children.
“Recently, since March 2023, Amnesty International has documented at least 30 cases of killings of demonstrators by the police, notably during the anti-government demonstrations of March 20 and 27 (12 murders), during the Saba Saba demonstration ( 12 murders), and July 19 (6 murders),” he said.
He added that preliminary investigations revealed that police resorted to beatings, arbitrary arrests and detention of protesters, as well as the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of tear gas and water cannons. , among other serious human rights violations to suppress the protests.
Pomi also noted that Haiti’s human rights crisis has pushed thousands of Haitians to flee the country and seek refuge in countries in the Americas.
He said that rather than providing Haitians with the international protection to which they are entitled, governments in the region have carried out mass expulsions and racist policies.
“No Haitian national should be returned to the country or to a place where they could be exposed to serious human rights violations,” Pomi said.
He affirmed that Haitians must have access to protection without discrimination, including fair and individualized assessments of their refugee status, as well as other pathways to regularize their status, in accordance with international rights standards. of man.
Pomi believed that before any possible deployment of Kenyan police to Haiti, there should be meaningful consultation with Haitian civil society in order to adopt policies and practices that support a Haitian-led solution for long-term stability in the country.
source: Why we’re worried over police deployment to Haiti – Amnesty (the-star.co.ke)
