Jamaica is still preparing to put boots on the ground in Haiti as Kenya, which is expected to lead the multinational security support mission, commits to the cause.

“We continue to plan, we continue to remain committed, we are training. We will be the place of training for the other Caricom [Caribbean Community] countries. When they have gone through their local peacekeeping process they will then come here for pre-deployment.

“There has been no change as far as I am aware, but there is not a timeline,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Senetor Kamina Johnson Smith said on Wednesday while responding to questions during a post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House.

Last August Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that Jamaica was prepared to deploy troops to Haiti as part of a multinational security support mission.

At that time, it was widely reported that some 200 members of the Jamaica Defence Force would be deployed to join the security support mission.

On Monday, Holness underscored the need for the urgent deployment of the mission as he addressed the opening session of a Caricom organised high-level meeting on Haiti in Kingston, where several international partners were represented.

“The Haitian National Police is currently under-resourced and out-manned. The UN Security Council-approved multinational security support mission to Haiti is, therefore, a critical and necessary first step to restore basic law and order and provide an environment of stability to allow the distribution of assistance and the crafting of medium- and long-term solutions. On this, I am certain we can all agree.

“This special meeting must lead us closer to action. With each passing day, the situation becomes more dire for the majority of the people of Haiti, and indeed the region,” said Holness.

But on Tuesday news emerged that Kenya has halted plans to deploy at least 1,000 police officers to Haiti following the announcement by Haitian Prime Minister Dr Ariel Henry that he would resign once a presidential council is created.

Kenya had agreed last October to lead a UN-authorised international police force to Haiti, but the country’s top court in January ruled this was unconstitutional, in part because of a lack of reciprocal agreements on such deployments between the two countries.

On Monday, Kenyan Interior Minister Kindiki Kithure said officers selected to go to Haiti were ready and awaiting deployment after the top court’s requirement’s on bilateral agreements were met.

Less than 24 hours later, the international media reported that Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Koriri Sing’oei confirmed that the planned deployment of police officers has been put on hold.

“There has been a fundamental change in circumstances in Haiti as a result of the complete breakdown of law and order,” Sing’oei added.

But President William Ruto Wednesday reassured the United States that Kenya would lead a multinational mission to tackle spiralling violence in Haiti once a presidential council was set up in the country.

Responding to questions at the post-Cabinet briefing Johnson Smith accepted that the uncertainty around the deployment of the Kenyan police is a challenge to efforts to improve the security situation in Haiti.

“The fact is that preparations were actively still ongoing at my last enquiry. There is still training that is underway, the finalisation of the legal documentation, all of which processes would not have been completed tomorrow where there to have been a request from them to enter tomorrow,” said Johnson Smith.

“I know that the Kenyan Government is reviewing the circumstances and I know that they will also have to ensure that they have clear and accurate information about what is happening in Haiti and we know that international partners continue to work together in ensuring that this mission does take place,” added Johnson Smith.

She said there is the recognition that the Haitian police is being outmanned and out-gunned by the gangsters who have taken control of sections of the national capital Port-au-Prince.

According to Johnson Smith, efforts are underway to increase the capacity of the Haitian police but this will take time.

“And we are training. Jamaica has started training, they have started training with support from Mexico and Canada [but] it must be that you will have to introduce additional personnel to support security and stability,” argued Johnson Smith as she noted that the UN Security Council resolution which approved the multinational mission is still in place.

An unprecedented level of gang violence is dramatically increasing humanitarian needs across Haiti. Thousands of people have been killed, and more than 15,000 are homeless after fleeing neighbourhoods raided by gangs. Approximately 80 per cent of the capital is now estimated to be under gang control.