An agreement relating to MMAS status protections signed between Kenya and Haiti, obtained by AyiboPost, establishes the balance of power with the Haitian authorities, as well as the immunities and privileges of its members
The first contingent of Kenyan officers of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS) in Haiti landed on the tarmac of Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Kenya Airways landing at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, June 25, 2024. | © Jean Féguens Regala/AyiboPost
These agents are to accompany the Haitian forces in their fight against gangs and help stabilize the country before elections are held.
A deal relating to the status protections of the MMAS signed between Kenya and Haiti, obtained by AyiboPost, establishes the balance of power with the Haitian authorities, as well as the immunities and privileges of its members.
According to this document, personnel are not subject to inspection upon arrival in Haiti, do not pay taxes on their income and emoluments, and do not pay local taxes for purchases made for official use. .
This text grants immunity to mission staff and local contractors in the exercise of their functions. No member of the mission can be imprisoned in Haiti.
Any criminal prosecution will be conducted in the country of origin of the officer in question. A member of the mission caught in the act must be handed over to the mission without delay for the necessary follow-up.
The Mission Commander may arrest members of his team who are found to be in breach of ethics and discipline policies and guidelines.
In these cases, it returns these individuals to the States that deployed them for appropriate disciplinary action. Appropriate policies, procedures and measures are not made public.
No member of the mission can be imprisoned in Haiti. Any criminal legal proceedings will be conducted in the country of origin of the officer involved.
The mission and its contractors can import materials, equipment and provisions free of duties and taxes. The government must establish temporary customs facilities for this purpose. Non-Haitian contract workers remain exempt from taxes.
The mission and its contractors may set up sales stores for the use of their members. Local staff may not benefit from the services of these institutions.
The mission also has the possibility of setting up radio stations to broadcast information relating to its mandate to the public.
No MMAS operation is subject to financial control. And the mission may re-export or transfer its goods, equipment and provisions that have not been given to the Haitian State.
Kenyan police officers on the tarmac of Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
Questioned by AyiboPost on the immunity granted to MMAS personnel, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Mr. Carlos Hercule, maintains that it is a “standard agreement, almost a carbon copy of the United Nations Convention [de 1946] on diplomatic privileges and immunities.
The minister did not provide information on the first actions of the Kenyan officers.
“It is the Haitian authorities who will determine where they are going, what their mission will be and to what extent they can provide assistance,” continued Me Hercule. “It is an available contingent that will respond to the orders of the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Armed Forces.”
A small crowd, including around twenty journalists, came to witness the disembarkation of the Kenyans near Toussaint Louverture airport yesterday Tuesday.
At around 9:20 a.m., a white plane bearing the name “Kenya Airways” landed on the tarmac at Toussaint Louverture airport.
The journalists’ cameras machine-gun the plane with impatient clicks.
Spectacular gathering of journalists near Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in order to take a few pictures during the landing of the first contingent of Kenyan officers of the Multinational Mission for Security Support (MMAS), June 25, 2024.
“Finally! They’re here,” said with relief Jacques Sainté, a boot shiner, visibly in his forties, who came to witness the scene.
Sainté had fled gang violence with her daughter in July 2022 in Cité-Soleil. Since then, they have never returned home.
The man with the emaciated face, who says he feels like he is reliving history, tells AyiboPost that he witnessed the landing of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti in 2004.
He remains cautious after leaving MINUSTAH disappointed in 2017.
Read also: Looking back on 15 years of UN failures in Haiti
The mission was responsible for multiple cases of human rights violations and introduced cholera in the country.
“I only have one hope: here it is,” declared Sainté, turning his back on the plane and pointing towards the sky.
On the street next to the airport, a mixture of enthusiasm, indifference and sometimes disappointment can be seen on the faces of the hundred or so people who were brought in for the landing and of passers-by at the sight of the plane.
The first contingent arrives in a country devastated by gangs, in search of respite.
Crossed by colorism, Haiti remains culturally different from other countries where Kenya is used to intervening.
“The Kenyans have black skin, but I believe they are all white people sent by the United States. And, I don’t like white people,” declares Violette Exume, a 35-year-old mother, who left her home in Delmas to come and watch the landing.
The lady hopes for a respite from the mission, but fears that the bad practices of past interventions will be repeated.
“I want to be able to live peacefully without the worry of being kidnapped,” she said. “It’s not possible to continue like this.”
Agents of the Haitian National Police (PNH) ensure traffic as senior government officials arrive at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, June 25, 2024.
On February 29, gangs launched a violent assault against several institutions in the country.
They caused the escapes the largest in the last decade in the two largest prisons in Port-au-Prince, burned and looted homes and stores, and led to internal displacements of more than half a million.
The then Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, had to resign in a letter signed in Los Angeles on March 24, 2024 after being dropped by his international partners.
Talks between different political actors, initiated in 2023 under the aegis of the Caribbean Community, resulted in the establishment of a nine-member transitional presidential council on March 11, 2024.
A new cabinet led by Prime Minister Gary Conille officially took over the country three months later.
In a video released last weekend, one of the country’s most powerful gang leaders, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, called for “dialogue” with the prime minister.
In response, the head of government asked the gangs to lay down their arms and recognize the authority of the state “before any other arrangements” in a press conference on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Garry Conille at a press conference with senior Kenyan officials, including the head of the delegation, Monica Juma, at the Prime Minister’s office, June 25, 2024.
“This is no longer a film,” a motorcyclist shouted yesterday near Toussaint Louverture airport. “Tell Barbecue that we will come and talk with weapons,” he added.
The head of the Kenyan delegation, Monica Juma, speaking at the press conference held on June 25, 2024 at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Par Widlore Merancourt, Wethzer Piercin et Jérôme Wendy Norestyl
Cover image: The first contingent of Kenyan officers of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS) in Haiti is about to land on the tarmac of Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince , Tuesday June 25, 2024.
The photos are from Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost.
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