UN Authorizes Security Mission in Haiti To Fight Gangs

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday authorized a foreign security mission in Haiti to fight the gangs plaguing the country.

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Approved by the UNSC the security assistance mission is not a UN operation. It is the so-called Multinational Security Support Mission, a resolution drafted by the United States and Ecuador that authorizes the use of force. 

The resolution received 13 votes in favor, while the other two members, Russia and China, abstained from voting. 

This multinational force will be led by Kenya. Resolution 2699 provides for its operation for one year, with a review after nine months, according to media reports. It is not yet clear how quickly a force could arrive on the ground.

The Council approval comes a year after the Caribbean country requested assistance in combating violent gangs. 

On the occasion, the UNSC noted the "urgent need to encourage broader participation and forge the broadest possible consensus in the political process, with a view, as soon as the necessary security conditions are in place, to holding transparent, inclusive and credible electoral processes and free and fair elections."

Haiti has been without elected representatives since January. According to the unelected government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the current insecurity in the country prevents the holding of fair elections.  

The adopted resolution also calls on countries participating in the security mission "to adopt appropriate sewage management and other environmental controls to prevent the introduction and spread of waterborne diseases."

This warning refers to the dumping of infected sewage into a river by UN peacekeepers in 2010, which brought cholera to the previously disease-free Caribbean country. More than 9,000 people died from the disease and some 800,000 fell ill.

Countries supporting the security assistance mission

The United States will not send troops, but expects to contribute 100 million dollars to support the multinational mission with logistical and financial assistance, which could include intelligence, airlift, communications and medical support.

Kenya stepped forward in July with a commitment of 1,000 police. The Bahamas, meanwhile, pledged 150 personnel, while Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda have also expressed their willingness to help.