Belizean Soldiers Deployed to Haiti as Part of U.N. Peacekeeping Mission

Over the weekend, two senior soldiers from the Belize Defence Force (BDF) were deployed to assist with the ongoing security support efforts in Haiti. After gangs in the country terrorized Haiti for several months, the United Nations passed a resolution to assemble a multi-national task force that would help restore law and order. BDF Chief of Staff, Major Roberta Usher, explained that the soldiers first headed to Jamaica to integrate with other members of the task force. They are scheduled to deploy for Haiti later this week.

Major Roberta Usher, Chief of Staff, BDF: “With the multinational security support mission that is in Haiti to assist the country with bringing their law and order back and being able to conduct free elections. Due to the regional security, the country cannot do it alone and they’re asking assistance from their regional partners, Belize is included in the CARICOM joint task force. Sure, we have two senior officers that were deployed on the 7th of September to join the Jamaican contingent that is scheduled to deploy on the 12th and they’re there to conduct staff duties in the headquarters as one officer will be doing the operational plans and the other one will be assisting the company headquarters focusing on the strategic roadmaps and the daily operations for the units on the ground. So our senior officers will be in a headquarter position as operational planners and just concentrating on plans and operations for the units. They will not be conducting ground operations. The deployment aligns with the UNSC 2699 which authorized the formation for the multinational security support mission and Belize’s commitment to support as outlined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The BDF did not disclose the names of the soldiers. The United Nations Security Council passed resolution 2699 in October last year