UN chief rules out UN peacekeepers for Haiti

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has ruled out transitioning the multinational security support mission (MSS) in Haiti into a U.N. peacekeeping force for now, and is instead recommending creating a U.N. support mission to back the MSS that will be funded through the U.N. peacekeeping budget.

“Such a transition could be considered, once significant progress has been made in substantially reducing gang territorial control,” Guterres said of U.N. peacekeepers, in a letter Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council and obtained by VOA.

“A realistic option is based on a dual-track strategy, with the United Nations assuming new roles to enable the MSS, the national police and Haitian authorities, to substantially reduce gang territorial control through peace enforcement,” the U.N. chief said. “This would require a robust mandate for the use of force and the capacities to conduct targeted operations against gangs.”

Guterres sent his recommendation to the Security Council on Tuesday following a request from its members to come up with a range of U.N. options. The MSS is not a U.N. mission, but it does have Security Council authorization and the U.N. oversees its financial trust fund.

He suggests establishing a U.N. support office for the MSS to provide logistical and operational support. It would be paid for by the U.N. peacekeeping budget — giving it reliable funding.

The secretary-general said the mission needs stronger intelligence capabilities and more equipment, and it should be reinforced with specialized police units to protect critical infrastructure, including seaports, airports, oil terminals and major roads.

The island nation has been plagued by gang violence and instability since 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. The national police are under-staffed and poorly equipped and have been unable to stop the gangs, which are terrorizing the population, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince. A transitional government is now in place with the goal of organizing credible elections, but it has faced internal and external challenges.

Late last year, the United States and then-council member Ecuador, which were co-leads on Haiti on the council, had called for the MSS to become a U.N. peacekeeping operation. But not all members agreed. China and Russia have expressed reservations about sending peacekeepers to Haiti when there is a lack of peace to keep.

Haiti’s past experiences with U.N. peacekeeping missions have ended badly, and it was originally felt that a non-U.N. mission was a better idea. But a lack of funding, equipment and logistics has brought even Haiti’s struggling government around to the idea of a U.N. peacekeeping mission, which would benefit from sustainable funding and access to more resources.

The MSS started deploying in June and is mandated through Oct. 2, 2025. Guterres said it recently reached the level of 1,000 personnel. They come from the Bahamas, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica and Kenya, which is leading the mission. But 1,000 is less than half of the 2,500 personnel planned for the mission.

Financing has been a problem from the start. Guterres said the mission’s trust fund has $110.8 million in voluntary contributions from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Turkey and the United States, of which $48 million has not been allocated and much more is needed.

“The MSS is slowly assuming the shape of a real multinational effort to support Haiti,” Guterres wrote. “We must all stand behind it as an immediate and credible effort to help the Haiti’s national police beat back armed gangs, prevent their territorial expansion and protect the people of Haiti.”

He added that when the MSS is fully deployed and adequately resourced it, “represents the most viable solution to meet the medium-term goal of reducing gang territorial control.”