US drops pressure on Haiti peace plan to appease China, Russia By Reuters
Written by Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States has abandoned a proposal for the UN Security Council to request a plan to transform the security force in Haiti – which helps fight gangs – into an official UN peacekeeping mission, a move made to appease Russia and China, the diplomats said.
The 15-member council will vote Monday on a draft resolution to extend the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mandate until Oct. 2, 2025. The UN first approved the mission last year after the Caribbean country asked for help.
The international security team led by Kenya, while authorized by the UN Security Council, is not a mandate of the United Nations. Countries voluntarily contribute money and workers.
The mission has made little progress in helping Haiti restore peace with only 400 Kenyan police on the ground so far and a lack of funding.
Diplomats said Russia and China did not want the council to ask for a reform plan, so the US removed that language from the draft resolution, seen by Reuters.
Russia wants to allow more time for the MSS to stabilize, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy, added: “We do not want to prejudge the outcome of the MSS. It is too early to draw conclusions.”
The UN missions of China and the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Transforming the MSS into a UN peacekeeping operation would ensure reliable funding, equipment and personnel. If the Security Council had asked for a transition plan, it would have had to at some point – adopt a second resolution when it was ready to establish an official peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier this month that the establishment of a UN peacekeeping force would not be the best solution in Haiti, which is facing the problem of mass displacement, sexual violence and widespread hunger.
Gang violence has displaced more than 700,000 people in Haiti, according to UN figures.
The head of Haiti's transitional council, Edgard Leblanc, supported the transition of the MSS to the peacekeeping mission on Thursday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised this issue during his visit to Haiti earlier this month.
“I am sure that this change of situation, although I realize that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated, will ensure the full success of the campaign in Haiti,” Leblanc told the UN General Assembly.
Many Haitians are wary of an armed UN presence after previous missions left a cholera epidemic and sexual abuse scandals behind.
