Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith has welcomed the decision of the United Nations Security Council to approve an International Security Support Mission to Haiti.

The approval follows over 3,000 homicides and more than 1,500 instances of kidnapping for ransom in Haiti in the last year.

Another 200,000 Haitians have been forced to flee their homes as women and girls fall prey to sexual violence and abuse at the hands of armed thugs.

Kenya has volunteered to lead the International Support Mission to curb the escalating violence in the country.

Johnson Smith explained that the resolution will allow for the securing of critical infrastructure and transit hubs, such as the airport, ports, schools, hospitals and key intersections, as well as to ensure that humanitarian support can be delivered.

She said Jamaica will continue to lend its support to the CARICOM Eminent Persons group.

While Kenya will be leading the mission, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica and Suriname are among the countries which have already pledged their support to help restore normalcy in Haiti.