Expert comment: Kenyan police arrive in Haiti

Professor Rosa Freedman comments as Kenyan police arrive in Haiti, following widespread gang violence in the Caribbean country.

Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, Conflict and Global Development at the University of Reading, said: “The first contingent of Kenyan police have been deployed to Haiti. The agreement between the two countries allows impunity for the Kenyan police and any acts they carry out in Haiti. Any criminal prosecutions can only be done in Kenya. 

“This is a serious barrier to protecting human rights and accountability for any violations of human rights or criminal law while the Kenyan police are in the country. 

“Given the long history of detrimental international interventions in Haiti, including the UN bringing cholera in after the 2010 earthquake and sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers, this latest intervention raises huge concerns for the safety and security of Haitians. 

“Most of the Kenyan police will not speak the languages of Haiti and will have little understanding of the desires and needs of the Haitian people, so it is difficult to see how this intervention will be successful. 

“Haiti needs Haitian solutions for Haitian problems.”