US, Ecuador draft new UN peacekeeping operation for Haiti

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

The proposed Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, says UN peacekeepers are needed “in order to sustain the gains” made by the UN-backed multinational mission which has seen almost 400 Kenyan police deploy since June to help the Haitian National Police.

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

America’s top diplomat also said a UN peacekeeping force was an option to address a funding crisis for the Kenya-led mission, which depends on voluntary contributions. The US and Canada have provided the bulk of funds so far. Peacekeeping operations, by contrast, are funded by a special UN budget.

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

A 2004 rebellion had the country on the brink of collapse, leading to deployment of a UN force. It helped stabilise 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 UN peacekeepers left under a cloud, with troops from Nepal widely blamed for introducing cholera that has killed about 10,000 people in Haiti since 2010 and other troops implicated in sexual abuse, including rape and the targeting hungry children.

Since 2017, the UN has had a series of small missions in Haiti.

Concerns on UN peacekeepers

The latest, political mission, BINUH, has a mandate to advance a Haitian-led political process toward elections, the rule of law and human rights.

Many Haitians have rejected the proposal of another peacekeeping operation, given the introduction of cholera and sexual abuse cases that occurred when UN troops were last in Haiti. Some Haitians also see UN peacekeepers as an occupying force.

Haiti asked for an international force to combat gangs in 2022, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for months for a country to lead the force before the Kenyans came forward and pledged 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 personnel.

They would be deployed in phases that would cost roughly $600 million a year. Currently, the U.N. has $85 million in pledges for the mission, out of which $68 million has been received.

The gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.

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, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

'Threat to international peace and security'

The violence subsided somewhat before the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in late June, with Blinken noting that economic activity has restarted in some areas of Port-au-Prince and that joint operations have led to successes including regaining control of Haiti’s biggest public hospital.

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

The draft resolution would determine that “the situation in Haiti continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the region.”

Extending gratitude to Kenya, it would extend the mandate of the Multinational Security Support mission until Oct. 2, 2025, while the UN plans a transition to a peacekeeping operation.

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 discussions were private. No date has been set for a vote.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated Friday that any new peacekeeping force requires approval from the Security Council. UN member nations must then volunteer troops and needed equipment, and the force then needs to be deployed — all of which takes time, he said.