Three months after Kenya deployed its first two contingents of police officers to lead the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council unanimously adopted September 30 a resolution renewing the MSS mission for one year.
As Haiti continues in its struggle to stem gang violence and restore stability, the U.N. resolution expressed “deep concern about the situation in Haiti, including violence, criminal activities, and mass displacement.”
Despite the harrowing challenge, the Kenya-led MSS mission that seeks to support the Haitian National Police (PNH) to regain areas under gang control, and extended until October 2, 2025, is gaining support.
On October 18, a team of six members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force deployed to Haiti, in an effort spearheaded by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In mid-October, Kenya said it would deploy another 600 police officers by November. On October 3, El Salvador officially signed the agreement to join the MSS mission to assist Haiti’s security operations. While an exact deployment date was not known at the time of the announcement, officials indicated that Salvadoran troops would support the PNH with aerial surveillance, medical assistance, and street patrols.
On September 24, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo told the U.N. General Assembly that the Central American country would send 150 military police officers to support Haiti in its fight against violent gangs. Arévalo did not say when the contingent would deploy.
Brazil, which led the entire United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017, will collaborate in a different way this time. The Social Communication Office of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security reported in a statement to Diálogo that during the visit of Haitian Foreign Minister Dominique Dupuy to Brazil on August 28, Brazilian Minister of Justice and Public Security Ricardo Lewandowski announced the Brazilian government’s willingness to offer training courses to members of the PNH. The courses will take place in Brazil and will be taught by the Federal Police’s National Police Academy.
“The initial plan was for the courses to begin in the second half of October. At the moment, however, the Haitian government has prioritized maintaining its capacity to employ troops to combat organized crime in that country. For this reason, negotiations are continuing between the two countries to set a date,” the statement added.
Unprecedented crisis
Armed gangs in Haiti control more than 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince and the country’s main roads. The U.N. estimates that nearly 600,000 people have been displaced in the country, with armed gangs accused of abuses including murder, rape, looting, and kidnapping. From January to the first half of August, more than 2,400 people were killed and more than 950 were kidnapped, the U.N. indicated.
In 2022, Haiti requested international support to help fight the armed gangs. On October 2, 2023, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution ordering the deployment of international police forces for a period of at least one year. The Kenya-led mission, although approved by the Security Council, is not a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
Two months after its arrival, the MSS said in an August 26 statement that it had made “significant progress” in combating gang violence, helping the Haitian police regain control of “critical infrastructure, including the airport, under gang control” and “opened critical roads that allowed thousands of previously displaced Haitians to return.” The Kenyan police arrived in Haiti on June 25.
Unwavering support
The United States has been among the largest supporters of the MSS, pledging more than $300 million to its support. Since April, it has carried out some 150 missions transporting civilian contract personnel, equipment, and supplies. According to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) data, as of October 7, 2024, the United States has delivered 4,465 tons of cargo, including hygiene and sanitation, food, heavy equipment, medical supplies, building materials, and protective gears for the PNH, among others.
On September 5, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $45 million in new humanitarian aid and asked other countries to help finance the international security force in the Caribbean country. “At this critical moment, we need more funds. We need more personnel to support and achieve the objectives of this mission,” Blinken said at a press conference during his official visit to Port-au-Prince.
In late August, SOUTHCOM completed the delivery of 34 M1224 MaxxPro mine-resistant and ambush-protected vehicles to Haiti, with more to follow, Janes, an open-source intelligence site, reported on September 19. The U.S. Department of Defense “intends to provide HMMWVs [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles] and cargo trucks in the coming months,” a SOUTHCOM spokesperson told Janes.
Of the promised 1,000-strong Kenyan contingent, at least 400 are already in Haiti, along with two dozen soldiers and police officers from Jamaica and two senior military officers from Belize. The mission is expected to involve some 2,500 people from countries such as the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad, and Jamaica.
Godfrey Otunge, commander of the MSS, told the Miami Herald on September 5 that the mission is well positioned to restore “the lost glory of security” in Haiti and that once more police and military personnel from other nations join them “and we have the equipment, we have the funding,” gang leaders’ days will be numbered.
