NAIROBI, Kenya – President William Ruto has welcomed the publication in Haiti of the decree confirming the creation of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) tasked with choosing new political leadership and setting up elections in the crisis-torn Haiti, paving the way for the election of a new prime minister.
Kenya’s President William Ruto (Right) and Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry witness the signing of the agreement in March (File Photo)“This decision is evident of the collective courage and singular sacrifice of the Haitian Council of Cabinet to forge a Haiti free of violence and to entrench a new democratic administration. We look forward to the PTC moving with speed to appoint the Prime Minister and Cabinet,” Ruto said on his official “X” account.
“I commend the leadership of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for their steadfast stewardship of the intense consultations that led to the establishment of a Presidential Transitional Council that reflects the diverse sections of Haitian society,” he added.
In March, Kenya and Haiti signed an agreement that would allow the African country to lead a United Nations Security Council sanctioned Multinational Security Mission (MSS) to restore peace and security in Haiti.
President Ruto said at the signing that he was requesting all the other partners across the globe to step up so that “we can provide a response in good time”.
Last October, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of the MSS to back Haiti’s beleaguered police force, which Kenya offered to lead. A 2022 sanctions regime, targeting gang leaders and their financiers, was also renewed.
Besides Kenya, Mali and the Bahamas have committed 150 people, and Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda said they were willing to help. Benin has also offered 2,000 troops.
But since witnessing the signing of the agreement, Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry has been unable to return to his homeland and has been holed up in the American state of Puerto Rico as criiminal gangs forced the closure of the international report and demanded his resignation.
Henry, who was sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community shortly after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, has already indicated that he would step down once the CPT if officially installed and a new prime minister sworn in ahead of the fresh elections.
In his message posted on X, President Ruto said “Kenya expresses confidence that the new political leadership will lay a strong foundation for the resolution of the crisis in Haiti, restoration of security, afford the Haitian people a political transition and usher in sustainable peace and development.
“Kenya reiterates its strong solidarity with Haiti and stands ready to make its contribution within the framework elaborated in the UN Security Council Resolution 2699 of 2023,” he added.
Last weekend both the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the 15-member CARICOM grouping welcomed the establishment of the CPT.
For his part, Guterres urged “all Haitian stakeholders to continue making progress in putting in place transitional governance arrangements, including the timely appointment of an interim Prime Minister and government, and the nomination of the members of the Provisional Electoral Council”.
Guterres said he had also taken note of the functions of the CPTl, including working with all members of the international community to accelerate the deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission authorized last year by the UN Security Council.
CARICOM in welcoming the publication of the decree establishing the CPT, said it “signals the possibility of a new beginning” for the French-speaking CARICOM country.
“CARICOM has supported Haiti, its sister nation, through the challenging process of arriving at a Haitian owned formula for governance that will take the troubled country through elections to the restoration of the lapsed state institutions and constitutional government,” the 15-member regional integration movement said in a statement.
In its statement, CARICOM said the CPT “has devised a framework setting out the creation, organization and functioning of the Council, and arrived at a Political Accord that articulates the way forward.
”The CARICOM Heads of Government fully endorse the principles of the Political Accord, and in particular take note of Article 16 which states, “The mission of the Presidential Council is to put Haiti back on the road to dignity, democratic legitimacy, stability and sovereignty and to ensure the proper functioning of the State’s institutions,” the statement added.
