Caribbean Community governments welcomed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Haiti that switches the mandate of an international group fighting heavily armed gangs to a suppression force, officials said Wednesday. This opens the door to greater resources and additional boots on the ground.
Regional officials had feared that Russia and China would have vetoed the resolution that passed on Tuesday, but along with Pakistan, they simply abstained, allowing resolution 2793 to proceed. This tweaked the Multinational Security Support (MSS) to a gang suppression force almost immediately.
The US had been leading the charge for this conversion for almost a year. On Wednesday, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said the move would lead to additional countries joining the Kenya-led force on the ground in the past year because it “now has a full UN mandate that would bring additional troops, money, and equipment.”
Kenya, with around 1,000 troops on the ground with support from El Salvador and a few CARICOM member states, has been leading the international effort to dismantle heavily armed gangs causing chaos mostly in Port au Prince, Haiti’s capital, and surrounding areas. This situation has persisted, especially since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Many governments fear that if the number of armed troops on the ground does not increase along with more equipment, the gangsters will eventually be able to topple the interim government charged with organizing fresh elections early next year. There have not been any elections in nearly a decade, while the mandates of nearly all parliamentarians and elected officials have long expired.
“We wholeheartedly welcome the Security Council’s adoption today of this resolution as a fundamental step that responds to the urgency of the security situation in Haiti. And we thank the co-penholders for their leadership. CARICOM applauds the resounding support of world leaders for the urgent and united action towards the restoration of peace and stability in Haiti, echoed throughout the recently concluded General Debate of the 80th session of the General Assembly. These critical objectives can only be achieved if security is restored in Haiti,” the 15-nation bloc stated.
The resolution will allow nearly 6,000 troops and police officers to be stationed in Haiti, and the UN will open a special office to monitor and oversee operations on the ground.
“We underscore the need to ensure sustainable, predictable resourcing of the Gang Suppression Force by all international partners. And we also renew our call for the urgent capitalisation of the 2025 humanitarian needs and response plan for Haiti. Only through urgent, collective action in the security domain, in support of Haiti, can the scourge of gang violence be arrested. This is a critical first step towards creating favourable conditions for elections, sustained delivery of humanitarian support and relief, the rebuilding of institutions, and the laying of the foundation for the long-term economic development of Haiti,” the CARICOM noted.
