US calls for renewing Haiti security mission mandate

By Daphne Psaledakis and Harold Isaac

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for renewing a United Nations mandate for an international security mission to help Haiti fight armed gangs that have taken over much of the country's capital and expanded to nearby regions.

The mission's mandate, first approved for 12 months, is set to expire at the start of October, but has seen few results with few troops on the ground and far less funding than hoped.

"At this critical moment you need more funding, you need more personnel to sustain and carry out the objectives of this mission," Blinken told a press conference in Port-au-Prince.

He said the U.S. - the mission's largest financial backer - planned to convene a ministerial meeting at the U.N. General Assembly this month, to encourage more financial contributions and renew the mandate.

"The mission itself needs to be renewed, that's what we're working on right now. But we also want something that's reliable, that's sustainable and we'll look at every option to do that; a U.N. peacekeeping mission is one option," Blinken said.

The current U.N.-ratified mission is being led by Kenya, which with under a month left on the mandate remains the only country to have deployed, with around 400 police officers arriving in 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, and hundreds of millions of dollars in support. By late August, just $63 million had been paid into the U.N.'s dedicated trust fund.

The mission has faced setbacks such as delays in paying the Kenyan officers and supplying key equipment such as firing towers for armored vehicles.

"Much remains to be done and we're determined to continue," Blinken said. "It's starting to move."

He also urged Haitian authorities to put the country on track for elections next year. Haiti last held elections in 2016 and its last elected president was assassinated in 2021.

Blinken met with Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille and the head of its presidential council Edgard Leblanc Fils during his visit. He also announced a further $45 million in humanitarian aid for Haiti.

Nearly 580,000 people have been internally displaced by the conflict, hundreds of thousands who fled the country have been deported back to Haiti, and close to 5 million people are facing severe hunger.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Harold Isaac, Kanishka Singh and Sarah Morland; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Deepa Babington)