Ruto Calls For Haiti To Be Recognised As Africa's 6th Region
The President noted that integrating Haiti would also strengthen efforts to transition the Multinational Security Support (MSS) into a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
Marvin Chege 
President William Ruto on Sunday, February 16 proposed that the African Union (AU) adopt the Caribbean nation of Haiti as Africa’s sixth region.
Ruto was speaking on the sidelines of the 38th Ordinary Assembly of the regional body in Ethiopia. According to State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, the Kenyan Head of State called for a Draft Declaration on AU Solidarity with Haiti to be adopted during the AU Assembly.
He called on AU leaders to officially recognize Haiti as the sixth region, highlighting the importance of continued support for Kenya's peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean nation.
The President noted that integrating Haiti would also strengthen efforts to transition the Multinational Security Support (MSS) into a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
A contingent of Kenya Police Officers disembark from a Kenya Airways plane at the Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti on January 19, 2025. /KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN
"President William Ruto proposes the adoption of a Draft Declaration on AU Solidarity with Haiti at the AU Assembly, to affirm its status as part of Africa’s Sixth Region and ensuring sustained support for the mission, including advocating for a transition of the MSS into a UN Peacekeeping Operation," Mohamed announced via his X account.
Kenya dispatched its first group of security forces to Haiti on June 25, 2024, under the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to help curb the gang violence that had plagued the Caribbean nation.
Starting with over 400 officers, the Kenyan elite units in Haiti have now exceeded 600, with the latest deployment including an all-female Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
Meanwhile, President Ruto suggested one of the initial tasks for the newly sworn-in African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Yousouff.
While presenting his report on AU institutional reforms during the 38th Ordinary Assembly of the AU, Ruto recommended that the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), responsible for evaluating 42 AU entities set for reforms, be instructed to finalize their report by July.
"Excellencies, it is evident that progress has been made in restructuring AU organs, institutions, and offices. Of the 57 AU entities earmarked for reform, 42 have been assessed, and the report is currently under consideration by the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC)," part of the statement read.
"I, therefore, propose that this Assembly direct the PRC, with the support of the AUC, to conclude its review of the 42 entities and submit a report to the Executive Council during its session in July 2025."
President Ruto delivered the report after being tasked with leading institutional reforms within the AU in 2024, stating that he had since consulted key stakeholders in his efforts to advance the union's reform agenda.
These discussions involved consultations with the African Union Commission leadership, previously headed by former Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat; the AU Institutional Reform Unit Secretariat; the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) in Addis Ababa; the AU High Representative for Financing the Union; and the leadership of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).
"Additionally, on January 27, 2025, I convened a High-Level Retreat in Nairobi, attended by the Presidents of Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, and Ghana, alongside the AUC Chairperson and Foreign Ministers from Mauritania, Rwanda, and Tunisia," part of the statement read.
"The resounding message from these consultations was clear and unequivocal: Africa must complete its reform process with urgency and decisiveness."
