UN Security Council approves sending forces to Haiti to fight violent gangs

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.N. Security Council voted Monday to send a multinational armed force led by Kenya to Haiti to help combat violent gangs, marking the first time in almost 20 years that a force would be deployed to the troubled Caribbean nation.

The resolution drafted by the United States and Ecuador was approved with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions from China and the Russian Federation.

The resolution authorizes the force to deploy for one year, with a review after nine months. The non-U.N. mission would be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million.

The vote was held nearly a year after Haiti’s prime minister requested the immediate deployment of an armed force, which is expected to quell a surge in gang violence and restore security so Haiti can hold long-delayed elections. Haiti’s National Police has struggled in its fight against gangs with only about 10,000 active officers in a country of more than 11 million people.

“More than just a simple vote, this is in fact an expression of solidarity with a population in distress,” said Jean Victor Généus, Haiti’s foreign affairs minister. “It’s a glimmer of hope for the people who have been suffering for too long.”

A deployment date has not been set, although U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said a security mission to Haiti could deploy “in months.”

Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Alfred Mutua said last week that the force could deploy within two to three months, or possibly early January. He also noted that key officers are being taught French.

Hours after the vote, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry thanked the U.N. Security Council, the U.N.'s secretary general, and Kenya and other countries who agreed to join the force, saying, “The bell of liberation sounded. ... We couldn’t wait any longer!”

It wasn’t immediately clear how big the force would be. Kenya’s government has previously proposed sending 1,000 police officers. In addition, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda have pledged to send personnel.

Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian Federation’s U.N. ambassador, said he did not have any objections in principle to the resolution, but that sending an armed force to a country even at its request “is an extreme measure that must be thought through.”

China’s U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, said he hopes countries leading the mission will hold in-depth consultations with Haitian officials on the deployment and explained his opposition to the resolution.

“Without a legitimate, effective, and responsible government in place, any external support can hardly have any lasting effects,” he said, adding that a consensus for a transition is urgently needed as well as a “feasible and credible” timetable. “Regrettably, the resolution just adopted fails to send the strongest signal in that regard.”

Généus said he’s grateful the resolution was approved because a foreign armed force is essential, but noted that it’s “not enough.”

“Socioeconomic development must be taken into account to take care of extreme poverty,” he said, adding that it is the source of many of Haiti’s problems and has created fertile ground for the recruitment of young people by gangs.

About 60 percent of Haiti’s more than 11 million people earn less than $2 a day, with poverty deepening further in recent years as inflation spikes.

The deployment of an armed force is expected to restore peace and security to Haiti so it can hold long-awaited general elections that have been repeatedly promised by Prime Minister Ariel Henry after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Haiti lost its last democratically elected institution in January after the terms of 10 remaining senators expired, leaving not a single lawmaker in the country’s House or Senate. Henry has been ruling the country with the backing of the international community.

The resolution approved Monday warns that mission leaders must takes measures to prevent abuse and sexual exploitation as well as adopt wastewater management and other environmental controls to prevent water-borne diseases, such as cholera.

The president of the U.N. Security Council, Brazil’s Sérgio França, noted that without a Haitian political solution based on free, transparent and fair elections, “no ... aid will guarantee lasting success.”

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told reporters that the resolution contains strong accountability and vetting language and that she’s confident Kenya will be able to carry out the mission.

“I can assure you the U.S. will engage on these issues very, very aggressively,” she said. “We’ve learned from mistakes of the past.”

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan thanked Kenya and other nations who have pledged to join the mission, saying it would bring much-needed help to Haiti’s population.

“We have taken an important step today, but our work to support the people of Haiti is not done,” he said.