The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday authorized a new multinational Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti to replace the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM).
The resolution co-penned by Panama and the United States was adopted after 12 member states voted in favour of it, while China, Pakistan, and Russia abstained from the vote.
US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said that the MSS mission lacked the scale, scope, and resources needed to take the fight to the gangs and restore a baseline of security in Haiti.
“Today’s vote sets that right. With this vote to transform the MSS mission to the new Gang Suppression Force, a mission five times the size of its predecessor and with a strengthened mandate to go after the gangs,” he noted.
“The international community is sharing the burden and living up to its promise to help Haiti turn the tide. It offers Haiti the chance to assume responsibility for its own security.”
GSF will comprise 5,550 uniformed personnel, including police officers and soldiers. The new force will still have a force commander in charge, but it will be overseen by a group of countries representing the coalition of the willing, troop-contributing countries.
Under an initial 12-month mandate, the GSF will work in close coordination with the Haitian National Police (HNP) and the Haitian armed forces to conduct intelligence-led operations to neutralise gangs, provide security for critical infrastructure, and support humanitarian access.
The new mission will still rely on voluntary contributions to fund its personnel; however, its operations and logistics, including the current US-constructed base in Port-au-Prince, will be overseen by the new UN Support Office.
The mandate of the Kenya-led peace mission to Haiti is set to expire on Thursday, October 2. The mission also has troops from Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
Haiti is facing nearly 1.3 million internally displaced people, rising kidnappings, widespread sexual violence, and gangs that control large areas of the capital.
Also Read: One MSS Officer Killed, 8 Injured After Accident in Haiti
