With US aid disrupted, Kenya seeking to turn Haiti deployment into UN mission: Official

Kenya on Wednesday said it is working to transition its Haiti security mission into a UN operation following a disruption in US funding, a senior government official told Anadolu.

Korir Sing'oei, principal secretary of the Foreign Ministry, said that despite a 90-day US hold on funds, the mission on the Caribbean island remains operational with existing resources.

"It's really unfounded that (the) U.S. has directed the UN to freeze funding, it is completely unfounded," Sing'oei told Anadolu in an exclusive interview.

He emphasized that the US has committed approximately $600 million to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, with a significant portion already disbursed.

"The only thing the US has done is to say, okay, let's pause further disbursement to the trust fund for 90 days. That only affects about $15 million. The mission already has $110 million to continue operations, and we are very confident that other countries will come on board."

"It cannot be stopped in terms of being used, because it's money already disbursed," he added.

There are plans to transition the mission to a UN operation, which would enable access to contributions directly from UN statutory funds, said Sing'oei.

"The reality also is that this mission will be transitioned to a UN mission, which will enable it to assess contributions directly from the UN statutory funds," he said.

"So Kenya's stand is that the mission will still go ahead," he reaffirmed, dismissing concerns that the U.S. funding pause would derail deployment efforts.

The funding concerns come after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day review of foreign aid programs.

The East African nation of Kenya leads the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti, authorized by the UN Security Council in October 2023, with the objective of assisting the Haitian National Police in combating escalating gang violence and reestablishing security.