Good afternoon, members of the press. I welcome you to this briefing to address and correct misinformation circulating across various media platforms, suggesting that the U.S. has suspended assistance to the MSS.
The MSS mission in Haiti remains a priority for the U.S. government. As with any transition in government, structural adjustments are expected. However, as part of the U.S. administration’s ongoing 90-day review of development assistance, the MSS mission continues without interruption, with all necessary mechanisms in place. The only pending matter is the temporary suspension of the disbursement of approximately $13 million that the U.S. contributed to the UN MSS Trust Fund, pending the overall review of development assistance. This amount represents less than 3% of the ongoing assistance to the MSS, which continues to receive strong support from other contributing nations. The UN Trust Fund remains funded to sustain the mission. The USA government has also granted a waiver to the execution order on the support to MSS.
The USA government has also a waiver to the Executive Order on INL support to MSS.The U.S. and other partner countries continue to provide logistical, financial, and equipment support to the MSS, with support flights arriving almost daily. Both the Department of Defense and the Department of State remain actively engaged in MSS operations.
I want to assure everyone, especially the people of Haiti, that the mission remains on track. This is evidenced by the arrival of the El Salvador contingent yesterday, the anticipated arrival of the fourth Kenyan contingent tomorrow, and the expected delivery of CASEVAC and MEDEVAC helicopters from El Salvador by the end of this week.
The MSS remains fully committed to restoring peace in Haiti.
Thank you all. May God bless you, and may God bless Haiti.
Godfrey Otunge, EBS, OGW (SAIG)
MSS Force Commander
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