The leader of the international organization said he is prepared to submit a proposal to the U.N. Security Council, months after Haiti formally requested the return of blue-helmeted U.N. soldiers to aid in the battle against illegal armed gangs.
However, it doesn’t seem like Secretary-General António Guterres is endorsing a conventional peacekeeping effort, the last of which concluded in Haiti in 2017 after 13 years. Guterres’ idea is more of a hybrid, taking into consideration the Multinational Security Support mission now headed by Kenya and partially funded by a trust fund under U.N. authority.
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In Barbados, Guterres spoke at the opening of the 48th annual meeting of the 15-member regional bloc known as CARICOM. He said he would shortly submit to the Security Council a proposal akin to the one the U.N. has in Somalia, where an African Union-led U.N.-authorized force has been fighting al-Shabaab since 2007. In Haiti, where armed criminal groups now control up to 90% of the capital, the objective is to provide an urgent boost to the security response that is failing.
According to the proposal, “the U.N. assumes the responsibility of the structural and logistical expenditures that are necessary to put the force in place, and the salaries of the force are paid through the trust fund that already exists,” he stated, departing from his prepared statements.
In his speech urging Caribbean leaders to come together to address the climate crisis and other issues, Guterres stated, “If the [Security Council] accepts the proposal, we’ll have the conditions to finally have an effective force to defeat the gangs in Haiti and create the conditions for democracy to thrive.”
The multinational force’s capacity to prevent the violence and growth of gangs that control important routes into and out of the capital, has displaced over a million people, and left six million in need of humanitarian aid has been hindered by the lack of funding for the mission, which has fallen short of expectations and promises.
The Biden administration worked last year to have the Kenya-led mission converted into an official U.N. peacekeeping operation to make up the difference after contributing more than $600 million, which was most of the budget, to support it. The administration wanted the funding to be assured by using the assessed contributions of U.N. member states rather than depending on the generosity of contributors. Although there is broad support for the return of troops in the area and on the Security Council, Guterres is a well-known opponent of peacekeeping operations, and both China and Russia have objected to the proposal on the council.
The mission’s trust fund has gathered little over $100 million so far, but neither country has made any contributions.
Following weeks of fruitless talks between Beijing and Washington, the Security Council decided in November to write to Guterres requesting that he present “a full range of options” for U.N. assistance in Haiti.
His suggestion is made amid uncertainties over whether the Trump administration would approve of the mission’s conversion to a U.N. peacekeeping mission and if it would address the operational shortcomings that now exist. It’s also uncertain if China and Russia would support the plan given that the U.N. wouldn’t be bearing the entire cost.
The deadline for Guterres’ proposal is February 28, 2025. According to an International Crisis Group report on the country’s current political and gang crisis, any changes to the mission would probably require uniformed personnel levels similar to the previous U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which at its height had about 7,000 military troops and 2,000 police officers. This is because of the current challenges in Haiti. According to the assessment, “it seems highly unlikely that gangs, which have amassed so much power, can be pushed back from most of the densely populated areas they hold in a few months,” even with financial and logistical backing for the Haitian national police and foreign forces.
The three-day conference of Caribbean leaders includes Guterres as one of many distinguished guests. Speakers frequently brought up the shifting geopolitical environment, the climate catastrophe, and the security situation in Haiti, a member nation.
The Caribbean is renowned worldwide for its breathtaking beauty. Guterres urged the area to come together, saying, “But there is trouble in paradise.” He added, “Wave after wave of crisis is pounding your people and your islands — with no time to catch your breath before the next disaster strikes.”
Along with talking about peace and security, Guterres said they need to cooperate to make progress in three important areas: “particularly to address the appalling situation in Haiti, where gangs are inflicting intolerable suffering on a desperate and frightened people.”
While he and others were speaking at Bridgetown, hundreds of miles away in Port-au-Prince, several communities were experiencing dread due to worries that armed groups were once again planning to attack them.
The situation in Haiti was discussed by the Caribbean Community’s outgoing and incoming chairs, who both stated that the region’s top concern is still Haiti.
Barbados’ prime minister and CARICOM chair Mia Mottley stated, “The Haitian people must be at the center of all that we reflect upon.”
The leader of the nation’s interim council recently suggested holding elections on that date, she stated, “Their situation continues to be of major concern to us, and it is not going to be sufficient just to be able to say that Haiti will have an election on Nov. 15. It is not going to be sufficient to just stabilize the security situation.”
