(Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council on Monday voted to authorize a security mission to Haiti to help the Caribbean country fight heavily armed gangs that have overrun the capital.
WHAT IS THE MSS?
The Multinational Security Support (MSS) is an international security force backed but not operated by the United Nations. Kenya has proposed to lead the force and offered 1,000 police officers, while the Bahamas, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda also pledged personnel.
The U.N. is seeking voluntary contributions of personnel, equipment and funds.
The U.S. government, while not sending any troops, intends to provide $100 million in logistical assistance such as intelligence, communications, airlift operations and medical aid.
WHY IS IT HAPPENING?
Haiti’s government requested urgent foreign armed help to fight gangs a year ago, when the G9 gang alliance took over a key fuel terminal. The worsening situation has driven a humanitarian crisis and forced more than 200,000 people from their homes.
G9 leader Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer and the only Haitian currently under U.N. sanctions, last month called for a truce among all metropolitan area gangs and for the gangs to overthrow the government.
The gangs now control large parts of the capital where human rights groups have reported widespread kidnappings, murders and sexual violence, often gang rapes.
The U.N. estimates around half of Haitians are going hungry as aid groups increasingly struggle to access communities. Many nearby countries have upped border security and the neighboring Dominican Republic has shut down its border.
WHY HAVE COUNTRIES BEEN CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE MISSION?
Countries have been wary of lending their support to the unelected government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who took power after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and whose government many Haitians view as corrupt.
They are also mindful of abuses during previous international interventions in Haiti. The U.N.’s 2004-2017 MINUSTAH mission sparked a sexual abuse scandal and a cholera epidemic that killed over 9,000 people.
The new mission would be the first time the U.N. has authorized a force to deploy to Haiti since MINUSTAH.
The MSS resolution called for vetting of force personnel and rapid investigations into misconduct allegations, particularly sexual abuse of women and girls, as well as careful wastewater management to prevent disease.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Kenya’s parliament will vote on whether it will deploy its forces and lead the mission, and other countries volunteering personnel, equipment or funds must now inform U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres of their participation.
The MSS is authorized to deploy for one year with a review after nine months. No date has been set for the prospective deployment.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
