Haiti’s transitional presidential council has taken over in what many hope marks a first step towards returning security to a country where escalating gang control has plunged millions into a humanitarian crisis.
A key element of that return to security will be how other countries answer a long-standing call to deploy troops to the Caribbean nation.
The international force was requested by Haiti’s former prime minister and approved by a United Nations resolution last October but countries have been slow to offer contributions and the plans were paused last month pending the installation of a new Haitian government.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HAITI?
Haiti, long the poorest country in the Western hemisphere with a legacy of slavery, foreign occupation and dictatorships, has experienced an escalation in gang violence since 2021, when its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated.
Ariel Henry took power as prime minister but declined to hold elections amid a deteriorating security situation.
The capital Port-au-Prince has been cut off from maritime and air routes while alliances of gangs – heavily armed with weapons largely trafficked from the United States – have cemented their control.
According to U.N. estimates, more than one person was killed every hour in the first three months of this year. There are also widespread reports of gangs using mass sexual violence, ransom kidnappings and torture to extort the population.
The conflict has spread to farmlands outside the capital, worsening food shortages that have plunged nearly half the population into acute hunger, with several parts of the country close to famine levels. Hospitals are facing shortages of supplies and public services have largely collapsed.
Henry, who many Haitians see as corrupt, pledged to step down last month while stranded abroad after traveling to Kenya seeking to fast-track security support.
He is succeeded in the interim by his finance minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, while the transition council, which has been mandated to support the U.N.-backed mission’s quick deployment and pave the way for elections, appoints a replacement and a new government.
WHY THE DELAY TO THE INTERNATIONAL FORCE?
Henry first requested an urgent international force to support Haitian police in October 2022 and the U.N. ratified this a year later. Kenya pledged to lead the force.
But six months on the force has yet to deploy and time is fast running out on its initial one-year mandate.
The initiative became tied up in legal challenges in Kenya and Nairobi said in March after Henry resigned that it was putting the deployment on pause and would re-evaluate once a new government was in place.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
Haiti’s transition council was formally installed on April 25, after delays over disagreements on who would sit on it. Though the council has been installed, it must still appoint a prime minister, a council president and a cabinet.
Kenyan President William Ruto said in response that Kenya stands “ready and willing” together with African and Caribbean counterparts to “rapidly execute the security support infrastructure envisaged.”
While many Haitians hope the mission could help restore much-needed security, others are wary after previous missions left behind slain civilians, a cholera epidemic and a sexual abuse scandal, for which reparations were never made.
WHO WILL BE IN THE MISSION TO HAITI?
Seven countries have formalized their intent to contribute personnel to the mission. The largest known contributor is Benin, which pledged 1,500 “seasoned soldiers” and said this could be increased to 2,000 within six months.
In July when it offered to lead the mission, Kenya said it would send 1,000 police officers. It reiterated its pledge to lead the mission in a March letter to the U.N., but did not say how many personnel it would deploy.
In the Caribbean, Jamaica has pledged 170 soldiers and 30 police, the Bahamas has promised 150 law enforcement personnel to help boost maritime and port security, and Barbados has also pledged security personnel, without giving a number.
Chad and Bangladesh have also pledged an unspecified number of personnel.
States are required to formally notify the U.N. secretary-general of their intention to participate by letter. There is no deadline.
“Other countries have expressed interest, including publicly, but have not notified the secretary-general yet,” a U.N. spokesperson said.
HOW MUCH FUNDING DOES THE MISSION HAVE?
The United States has pledged $300 million for the security mission, making it the largest stated financial backer, but much of this has been held up in Congress. Canada also pledged around $59 million and Britain some $6 million.
As of April 26, the U.N. said just $18 million had been deposited in its dedicated trust fund: $8.7 million from Canada, $6 million from the United States and $3.2 million from France.
Several dozen more countries have made unspecified commitments of support. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has said it supports the mission but has ruled out participating and has said it would not allow Haitian refugee camps on its territory.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for more countries to offer funds and urged more support from French-speaking nations. Haiti’s official languages are Haitian Creole and French.
Both France and the United States were recipients of a debt Haiti paid for more than a century over claims of property – including enslaved people – lost during the 1791-1804 Haitian revolution. Combined with loans taken to meet payments, a New York Times investigation estimated the debt cost Haiti billions of dollars, crippling development.
WHAT WILL THE MISSION TO HAITI DO?
The U.N. has authorized the so-called Multinational Security Support Mission to “take all necessary measures” against gangs while working with Haitian police to secure routes for humanitarian aid and ensure stringent measures to prevent rights abuses.
Researchers at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based NGO, said Kenyan assessments indicated the mission would need up to 5,000 personnel and cost some $240 million per year.