Kenya's Ruto open to converting Haiti mission to U.N. peacekeeping operation

By Harold Isaac

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Kenyan President William Ruto, on a visit to Haiti, said on Saturday that he was open to Kenya's anti-gang mission in the country being converted to a full U.N. peacekeeping operation.

Ruto visited Haiti to assess the progress of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, where Kenya is playing a leading role to curb rampant gang violence that has ushered years or political chaos and mass displacement.

The mandate of the MSS mission - first approved by the United Nations Security Council for 12 months - is set to expire at the start of October.

Earlier this month Reuters reported that the Council has began considering a draft resolution to extend the MSS mandate and ask the U.N. to plan for it to become a formal peacekeeping mission.

"On the suggestion to transit this into a fully U.N. Peacekeeping mission, we have absolutely no problem with it, if that is the direction the U.N. security council wants to take," Ruto said on Saturday in Port-au-Prince.

The United States and Ecuador circulated a draft text that would renew the MSS mandate for another 12 months and ask the U.N. to begin planning to transition the MSS mission to a U.N. peacekeeping operation.

The 15-member council is due to vote on Sept. 30 on the mandate renewal.

After the Security Council approved the MSS mission, Kenya sent about 400 police officers to Port-au-Prince in June and July from an expected total of 1,000. A handful of other countries have together pledged at least 1,900 more troops.

However, the efficacy of the MSS mission has been criticized amid delays in deployments of manpower and vital equipment needed to fight powerful gangs.

On Friday, he United Nations' expert on human rights in Haiti said that the situation has worsened, with now about 700,000 people internally displaced.

(Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Alistair Bell)