The UN Security Council has voted to extend the mandate of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti by six months as the Caribbean nation struggles to contain powerful criminal groups.
The resolution, adopted on Tuesday with 12 votes in favour and three abstentions, extends the force’s deployment until March 31, 2027.
The GSF was expected to reach 5,500 personnel and 50 civilian staff between April and October, but has fallen well short of that target.
Haiti has been gripped by deadly gang violence, with heavily armed criminal groups controlling large parts of the country.
“The entire effort... is designed around the ultimate objective that Haitians themselves take back control of their own security and their own future, and this cannot and will not become an endless mission,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said. The US co-sponsored the resolution.
Russia, China and Pakistan abstained.
Elections amid insecurity
Haiti is preparing to hold its first presidential and legislative elections since 2016, alongside a constitutional referendum, on December 13.
The resolution stressed the importance of creating security conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections.
The GSF replaced the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission.
The new force was intended to be more robust, but had fewer than 1,000 personnel as of July, drawn from Chad, Mongolia, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Sri Lanka.
Gangs increasingly recruit children
Gangs have increasingly used sophisticated tactics and weapons against Haitian authorities and have extensively recruited children.
The resolution expressed “grave concern” over the significant proportion of gang members who are children, citing systematic recruitment, including coercive and forced tactics targeting vulnerable communities.
Waltz said the international effort should support Haitians in restoring control of their country.
“The Haitian people, they defeated Napoleon, some of the greatest militaries in the world,” he said. “Together with them, we can take back the second-oldest republic in our hemisphere.”
