In an effort to fund the Kenya-led controversial peacekeeping mission to Haiti, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to meet officials from 20 countries.
Blinken initiated the two-day meeting on Wednesday, February 21, in Brazil where he met with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The US official was in a two-hour meeting with the Head of State where he requested assistance with the mission.
Blinken further emphasised that there was an urgent need for international assistance to improve the situation in Haiti.
According to the Miami Herald, a US publication, the Brazilian president remarked that despite the dire situation in Haiti, he, along with other South American leaders, was hesitant to offer police volunteers for the Kenya-led mission.
However, the Head of State noted he would join the UN and the US in hosting the high-level discussion on Thursday.
Other officials will be at the G20 meeting dubbed 'Rising to the Challenge on Haiti'. Blinken will seize the opportunity to impel the Head of State to support the mission and the humanitarian situation.
The US has pledged to fund the mission but it also requires other nations to support with equipment and more personnel.
Notably, Kenya is among the countries set to deploy a total of 2,500 officers. Other countries are Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda.
Kenya's plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti has been met with various obstacles including funding and opposition from the court.
In January, the High Court barred the government from deploying police officers to the Caribbean nation. The judges ruled that the deployment was unconstitutional.
Despite the Ruling, President William Ruto vowed to still send the officers. However, he revealed that Kenya was collaborating with Haiti to draft a bilateral agreement.
On Wednesday last week, officials from Kenya and Haiti signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a three-day meeting in the US.
The officials however failed to disclose the new deadline to deploy the police officers.
