A significant international intervention is now on the horizon for Haiti. The United Nations Security Council has just given its unanimous nod to a substantial new security force, aimed squarely at combating the rampant gang violence that has plunged the nation into chaos.
This ambitious plan, spearheaded by the United States and Panama, envisions deploying up to 5,500 highly capable soldiers and police officers. Their mission? To aggressively confront and dismantle the criminal groups responsible for years of terror, marked by killings, rapes, and kidnappings.
However, a crucial question remains unanswered: which nations will step forward to contribute personnel and financial support to make this vital mission a reality?
The Security Council’s vote came just two days before the expiration of the existing UN mandate for the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti. This prior mission, predominantly staffed by fewer than 1,000 Kenyan police officers, was intended to play a supportive role for the Haitian police. Unfortunately, it was never fully operational or adequately funded, and consequently failed to curb the pervasive violence.
The newly approved deployment, which will incorporate the existing Kenyan contingent, represents a dramatic fivefold increase in size. Critically, officials confirm that this force will be authorized to undertake independent offensive operations directly against the gangs.
Bill O’Neill, the UN’s human rights expert for Haiti, noted that the previous Kenyan mission was severely restricted in its ability to take initiative or conduct its own operations while assisting the Haitian police.
“This new force would be able to operate independently on its own initiative,” O’Neill stated back in August. “Of course, it would still try to help the police and be there to support, but it wouldn’t be tied to the Haitian National Police and its own operations.”
This latest approval arrives eight years after the withdrawal of a much larger UN peacekeeping operation in Haiti, known as MINUSTAH.
Between 2004 and 2017, the UN maintained up to 10,000 military personnel in Haiti. That mission, however, faced intense scrutiny over allegations of sexual exploitation of women, child abuse, and its role in introducing cholera to the country, a disease that tragically claimed over 10,000 lives.
The operational framework for this new force will differ significantly: the United Nations will oversee its management but will not exert direct command, ensuring it is not classified as an official UN peacekeeping operation.
Henry Wooster, the United States’ charge d’affaires in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, described the mandate of the new force as “more muscular.”
“That allows greater freedom of maneuver, freedom of action,” he told reporters, emphasizing that the force’s enhanced capabilities “should speak volumes to you.”
Experts and officials estimate that thousands of gang members are currently active in Haiti, perpetuating widespread instability.
Haitian officials have expressed their support for the decisive action. “The approaches that did not bear fruit yesterday will not save Haiti today,” Laurent Saint-Cyr, head of Haiti’s presidential council, passionately declared at the UN General Assembly last week. “It is imperative to listen to the voice of the Haitian people.”
While China and Russia voiced objections to the new force, they ultimately abstained from the Security Council vote rather than exercising a veto. China argued that the United States had treated the Council as a “rubber stamp,” failing to adequately address critical questions regarding the funding and contributing personnel for the mission.
Indeed, the effectiveness of the force will largely depend on voluntary contributions, a factor that proved challenging for the previous Kenyan-led security mission, as few countries apart from the United States were willing to offer either personnel or financial assistance.
Haiti has been engulfed in a severe humanitarian and security crisis since the 2021 assassination of its last elected president, Jovenel Moïse. The situation further deteriorated in February 2024, when rival gangs united to form a formidable front against the government, the police, and entire communities.
The UN reports that since January alone, at least 4,000 people have tragically lost their lives due to this escalating violence.