A POPULAR old saying goes, ‘A stitch in time saves nine…’ and it may very well be wisely applied in the current preparations for deployment of Caribbean troops to Haiti.

Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica — four Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states — have already agreed, ahead of a CARICOM vote, to support the external intervention by a United Nations-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM).

Invited by Haiti’s un-elected Prime Minister and Acting President Ariel Henry, approved by the majority members of the UN Security, financed by the United States and supported by Kenya, Canada is now about to host CARICOM leaders at an upcoming October 17-19 Summit, where Haiti is sure to be among the top topics.
The US has pledged to provide the necessary military intelligence, aircraft, ground logistics and medical assistance. But, like the UN, it will not commit Peacekeeping Forces or troops.
Canada has deep interest in Haiti and its official backing for the MSSM will most likely emerge from the summit to be hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Kenyan police and soldiers are signing up for the mission’s hefty pay increases, allowances and other incentives. But the decision is already proving somewhat difficult in Kenya, where the opposition sought and got a court injunction for a stay-of-execution of the deployment of police officers abroad, which, they claim, violates the Kenyan Constitution.
Legal critics in CARICOM are also claiming the invitation of external intervention in Haiti by an unelected government and without parliamentary backing, like in Kenya, might also be irregular, if not illegal.

However, like in Kenya, police, defense force and army units in CARICOM nations that have committed to the MSSM are looking forward to earning the much-needed extra pay in these extra hard times.

CARICOM member states not yet committed are still weighing the balances of probability while seeking more clarification about the security aspects of the MSSM.
Whatever the answers, this is a multinational security mission to be undertaken in a very short period in a very unstable environment, where people harbor more fear than hope and have vehemently opposed both presence of UN troops and interventions by other nations and external agencies.
Thus, before any CARICOM citizen leaves for Haiti, it’s necessary that all be sufficiently briefed, in detail, about what’s expected of them, and most importantly, the security challenges involved.

According to the UN Security Council’s mandate, those participating in the security aspects of the mission will work alongside the Haitian police to guard schools, hospitals and other institutions that can come under attack by the feared gangs said to be in charge of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
They are also expected to help create the security conditions that the Haitian police and army haven’t been able to guarantee, through dangerous areas for safe passage of aid and supplies to beleaguered Haitians outside the capital.

Further, they will also be expected to, within one year, build a transparent and accountable electoral machine that’ll be ‘free and fair’ and ‘free from fair’, to ‘Restore Democracy’ in a nation where elections have their own history in relation to such terms.

The UN resolution supporting the MSSM is detailed, but also very specific about taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong, including expectations that members of the MSSM force will at all times operate under UN recognised international Human Rights tenets, including avoidance of sexual exploitation.
They are expected to take full personal responsibility for all and any actions that fall outside of the Resolution’s specified red lines in ‘fine print’.
Against this background, CARICOM governments should try hardest to ensure every citizen going to Haiti knows and fully understands what is expected of them (by the UN) by ensuring each has copies of and are sufficiently schooled in their contents.

But while hoping for the best, CARICOM must also plan for the worst, including also taking steps to ensure funds are available for life insurance of citizens who’ll join the MSSM.