Durrant Pate/ Contributor

The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote today on a draft resolution renewing for one year the authorisation for member states to deploy a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti.

This mission is in furtherance of helping to re-establish security in the impoverished Caribbean country and build conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections. Ecuador and the United States are the co-authors of the draft resolution.

The vote comes ahead of the expiration of Security Council resolution 2699, which was adopted on  October 2, 2023, authorising member states to form and deploy the MSS mission to Haiti. 

The resolution mandated the mission to provide operational support to the Haitian National Police (HNP) to counter gangs by building its capacity through the planning and conduct of joint security support operations and to support the HNP in the protection of critical infrastructure sites.

The resolution authorised the mission for an initial period of 12 months to be reviewed after nine months. It specified that the cost of the operation would be borne by voluntary contributions and support from individual countries and regional organisations.

Deployment of “international specialised force” 

Against the backdrop of rampant gang violence in the country the Haitian government last October appealed for the immediate deployment of an “international specialised force” to temporarily reinforce the efforts of the HNP to combat gangs.

In July 2023, ten months after Haiti’s initial request, Kenya agreed to lead a multinational force to the country, pledging to deploy 1,000 police officers. At least nine other countries—primarily from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean including Jamaica subsequently stated their intention to participate in the force.

In June and July, Kenya deployed the mission’s first two contingents, totalling approximately 400 police officers with the remaining 600 officers that it pledged expected to deploy within the next two months. On September 12 this year, the first Caribbean contingent arrived, comprising 24 military and police officers from Jamaica and two military officers from Belize.

According to media reports, the MSS mission has helped the HNP achieve some success in retaking neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince that were previously under gang control. It remains under-resourced, however, facing funding and equipment shortfalls that limit its ability to scale up its physical presence and take and hold territory beyond the capital.