Kenya leader calls on UN to bolster Haiti police mission

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Kenyan President William Ruto, who sent police officers to lead a force in Haiti, said Wednesday that far more progress could be made in stabilizing the violence-ravaged nation if the United Nations devotes further resources.

The United States is pushing to transform the underfunded Kenyan-led UN-backed Multinational Security Mission into a more robust force to help the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, which has been ravaged by years of gang violence.

Ruto credited the mission with successes such as reopening the presidential palace, police headquarters and schools, while restoring normal road and airport traffic.

"Which begs the question -- if so much could be achieved with limited resources and stretched personnel within just 15 months, what more could have been accomplished if the United Nations fraternity had truly acted together in solidarity with the people of Haiti?" Ruto told the UN General Assembly.

"From this podium, I wish to assure all partners and actors that with the right personnel, adequate resources, appropriate equipment and necessary logistics, Haiti's security can be restored," he said.

"Gangs can be neutralized and the safety of streets, schools, hospitals and homes secured," he said.

The force has deployed only a thousand officers of the 2,500 that had been expected.

Haitian transitional presidential council president Laurent Saint-Cyr told a UN meeting on Monday that the force has still not been able to "sustainably secure territory."