(New York) The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Monday to extend the mandate of the Kenyan-led multinational force in Haiti for another year, after ignoring a call from Port-au-Prince to begin negotiations to transform this force into a real “UN peacekeeping mission”.
According to the final draft obtained by The Associated Press, China and Russia managed to eliminate the paragraph from the resolution that recognized the call by the president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council to the U.N. General Assembly ” to start a discussion” on the transition to a force of Blue Helmets.
The appeal made last Thursday by Edgard Leblanc Fils was the first public announcement of support by a government official since the United States proposed a UN peacekeeping mission in early September as a way to achieve more of resources for the mission currently led by Kenya.
Nearly 400 Kenyan police officers are now in Haiti, joined by nearly two dozen police officers and soldiers from Jamaica, to fight criminal gangs. The number of police officers is well below the 2,500 promised for this mission by various countries, including Chad, Benin, Bangladesh and Barbados. The mission also has a serious need for funding.
Criminal gangs have gained power since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021; it is estimated that they now control up to 80% of the capital and have moved into surrounding areas. The surge in murders, rapes and kidnappings led to a violent uprising by civil self-defense groups.
The president of the transitional presidential council, Edgard Leblanc Fils, warned during the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly that while the current UN-backed mission has made some progress, “there remains still much to do” as security continues to deteriorate in Haiti.
He said Haitians still lived in fear and could not move freely around the country, unable to work or send their children to school without great risk.
The short resolution adopted Monday in New York extends the multinational security support mission until October 2, 2025. It encourages the mission “to accelerate its deployment and encourages more voluntary contributions and support.”