The United Nations Security Council has approved a Kenyan-led multinational security force to assist Haiti's government in combating violent gangs that have plunged the Caribbean nation into anarchy. The resolution, proposed by the United States, received 13 votes in favour, with Russia and China abstaining.
The mission is authorised for one year, with a review after nine months. Kenya's foreign affairs minister, Alfred Mutua, stated that Kenyan troops should be deployed to Haiti by the end of the year. Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda have also pledged to send officers, though the force's total size has yet to be determined. The US has offered logistical support and $100 million in financing.
The UN faces significant challenges and doubts over an outside force's ability to combat the gangs, particularly given its own record of abuses. Haiti's Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, requested foreign intervention nearly a year ago as gangs seized more territory, driving up homicides, rapes, and kidnappings, which have worsened poverty and hunger. This year, over 2,400 Haitians have been killed, more than 950 kidnapped, and 902 injured, according to UN statistics.
Haitian NGOs and aid groups have cautiously welcomed the vote, mindful of past international interventions. The previous UN mission was marred by sexual misconduct allegations involving over 100 peacekeepers, including abuse of minors, and a cholera outbreak linked to a UN camp that killed nearly 10,000 people.
Observers warn that Kenyan police, who speak English and Swahili, may face a disadvantage in French- and Creole-speaking Haiti. Concerns also persist over the Kenyan police's own history of brutality; the campaign group Missing Voices estimates 1,350 deaths at the hands of police since 2017. The success of the intervention will depend on active Haitian involvement and the force's ability to operate effectively in densely populated slums with narrow corridors.
