Proposed resolution asks UN to plan for UN peacekeepers to replace Kenya-led police mission in Haiti

UNITED NATIONS — The United States and Ecuador on Friday circulated a draft resolution asking the United Nations to begin planning for a UN peacekeeping operation to replace the Kenyan-led mission now in the Caribbean country helping police quell gang violence.

The proposed Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, states that U.N. peacekeepers are needed “to preserve the gains the U.N. has made.” UN-backed multinational mission who has seen nearly 400 Kenyan police officers deployed since June to assist the Haitian National Police.

The circulation of the short resolution to all 15 council members follows US Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit to Haiti on Thursday, where he reaffirmed the US government’s commitment to the multinational mission and urged long-awaited general elections.

America’s top diplomat also said a U.N. peacekeeping force was an option to address a funding crisis for the Kenyan-led mission, which relies on voluntary contributions. The U.S. and Canada have provided the bulk of the funds so far. Peacekeeping operations, on the other hand, are funded from a special U.N. budget.

The United Nations has been involved in Haiti on and off since 1990.

A 2004 uprising brought the country to the brink of collapse, prompting the deployment of a UN force. It helped stabilize the impoverished nation after successful elections and a devastating 2010 earthquake that killed as many as 300,000 people and ended in October 2017.

But the UN peacekeepers left in a somber mood. Troops from Nepal are widely blamed for introducing cholera, which has killed about 10,000 people in Haiti since 2010. Other troops are also accused of sexual abuse, including rape and targeting hungry children.

Since 2017, the UN has had a series of small missions in Haiti. The latest, political mission, BINUH, has a mandate to promote a Haitian-led political process towards elections, the rule of law and human rights.

Many Haitians have rejected the proposal for a new peacekeeping operation, given the introduction of cholera And cases of sexual abuse which took place when UN troops were last in Haiti. Some Haitians also see UN peacekeepers as an occupying force.

Haiti called for an international force to combat gangs by 2022, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres spent months appealing for a country to lead the force before the Kenyans stepped forward and promised 1,000 police. They are expected to be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica, bringing the multinational force to 2,500.

They would be deployed in phases costing about $600 million per year. Currently, the UN has pledged $85 million for the mission, of which $68 million has been received.

The gangs have become increasingly powerful since July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and it is estimated that they now control 80% of the capital. The increase in murders, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by vigilantes.

In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks on police stations and the main international airport, which remained closed for nearly three months. They also stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 prisoners.

The violence subsided somewhat before the first Kenyan police unit arrived in late June. Blinken noted that economic activity had restarted in some parts of Port-au-Prince and that joint operations had led to successes, including regaining control of Haiti’s largest public hospital.

However, gangs continue to attack communities around Port-au-Prince.

The draft resolution states that “the situation in Haiti continues to pose a threat to international peace and security and to regional stability.”

In gratitude to Kenya, the mandate of the Multinational Security Support mission is being extended until October 2, 2025, as the UN plans a transition to a peacekeeping mission.

Security Council experts held their first meeting on the text of the resolution Friday afternoon and negotiations are expected to continue, a council diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. No date has been set for a vote.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated Friday that any new peacekeeping force would need Security Council approval. UN member states would then have to provide volunteer troops and necessary equipment, and the force would then have to be deployed — all of which would take time, he said.