Haiti: The United Nations Security Council is considering a proposal to expand and reform the multinational security mission in Haiti into a larger “Gang Suppression Force” as armed groups tighten their control over the capital and worsen the humanitarian crisis.
The draft resolution, sponsored by the United States and Panama, calls for boosting the existing Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission into a force of up to 5,500 personnel. The new structure would be guided by a Standing Group of contributing nations, including the U.S., Canada, Kenya, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and El Salvador. A UN field office in Port-au-Prince is also being planned to provide drones, transport, communications, and logistical support.
The Kenyan-led mission, authorized in 2023 for 2,500 troops, has struggled to reach its target and currently has fewer than 1,000 personnel on the ground. Meanwhile, gang violence has surged across the country, with nearly the entire capital under criminal control. More than 1.3 million people have been displaced, food insecurity is deepening, and public services have collapsed.
Children are increasingly caught in the conflict. According to UNICEF, half of Haiti’s gang members are minors, and recruitment has surged by 700 percent in early 2025 alone. The worsening security vacuum has led to widespread kidnappings, including the recent abduction of eight people, among them an Irish missionary and a three-year-old child, who were released after nearly a month in captivity.
Haitian authorities have also turned to private security companies, with contractors using explosive drones against gang positions. Critics, however, warn that outsourcing such operations to foreign firms raises accountability concerns.
The new UN plan has drawn mixed reactions. Security experts warn that Haiti has been sidelined from the Standing Group, sparking fears of a loss of sovereignty. Human rights organizations remain wary due to the UN’s controversial legacy in Haiti, which includes civilian casualties, sexual abuse cases, and a cholera outbreak during earlier peacekeeping missions.
The current multinational mission’s mandate expires on October 2, 2025. The Security Council must decide whether to renew it or approve the proposed Gang Suppression Force. The decision comes as Haiti faces one of its gravest crises in decades, with violence, displacement, and child recruitment threatening to unravel the nation’s fragile social fabric.