UN chief ready tells Caribbean leaders he's ready to present Haiti security plan

Miami Herald

20-02-2025

Months after Haiti filed a formal request for the return of blue-helmet United Nations peacekeepers to help fight criminal armed gangs, the head of the world agency said he is ready to present a proposal to the U.N. Security Council.
But Secretary-General António Guterres' request doesn't appear to be an endorsement of a traditional peacekeeping mission, the last of which ended in Haiti in 2017 after 13 years. Instead, Guterres' plan appears to be more of a hybrid that takes into account the current Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission and its partial financing through a U.N.-controlled trust fund.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 48th annual meeting of the 15-member regional bloc known as CARICOM in Barbados, Guterres said he will soon present to the Security Council a proposal similar to one the U.N. has in Somalia to boost the struggling security response in Haiti, where armed gangs now control up to 90% of the capital.
The plan, he said as he went off script from prepared remarks, is one in which 'the U.N. assumes the responsibility of the structural and logistical expenditures that are necessary to put the force in place, and the salaries of the force are paid through the trust fund that already exists.'
'If the [Security Council] accepts the proposal, we'll have the conditions to finally have an effective force to defeat the gangs in Haiti and create the conditions for democracy to thrive,' Guterres said during his address that called on Caribbean leaders to unite to address the climate crisis and other issues.
Funding for the multinational mission has not amounted to what was either expected or promised, and the lack of resources has hampered the force's ability in Haiti to stop the violence and expansion of gangs that control key routes in and out of the capital, have forced more than a million to flee their homes and left six million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
After providing more than $600 million — the lion's share of the funding —to support the Kenya-led mission, the Biden administration last year moved to have the mission transformed into a formal U.N. peacekeeping operation to address the shortfall. Instead of relying on the good will of donors, the administration wanted the funding to be guaranteed by having the money come from the assessed contributions of U.N. member states. Though the return of peacekeepers has widespread support in the region and on the Security Council, Guterres is a known critic of peacekeeping missions, and on the council both China and Russia have both balked at the idea.
Neither nation has contributed to the mission's trust fund, which thus far has raised just over $100 million.
In November, after weeks of negotiations between Beijing and Washington failed, the Security Council agreed to send a letter to Guterres asking him to provide 'a full range of options' for U.N. support in Haiti.
His proposal comes amid uncertainty about whether the Trump administration would support changing the mission into a U.N. peacekeeping operation, and on whether the proposal would deal with the current gaps in the mission's operations. Also unclear is whether Russia and China would back the idea now that the U.N. would not be shouldering the full financial burden.
Guterres' proposal is due by Feb. 28. A report released on the current political and gang crisis in Haiti by the International Crisis Group noted that given the current challenges in Haiti, any changes to the mission would likely need levels of uniformed personnel comparable to the former U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which at its peak had approximately 7,000 military troops and 2,000 police officers. The report noted that even if the Haitian national police and international forces receive financial and logistical support, 'it seems highly unlikely that gangs, which have amassed so much power, can be pushed back from most of the densely populated areas they hold in a few months.'
Guterres is among several special guests attending the three-day gathering of Caribbean heads of government. The security crisis in Haiti, a member country, as well as the changing geopolitical landscape and the climate crisis were repeatedly mentioned by speakers
'The exquisite beauty of the Caribbean is famed the world over. But there is trouble in paradise,' Guterres said, calling for the region to unite. 'Wave after wave of crisis is pounding your people and your islands — with no time to catch your breath before the next disaster strikes.'
There are three key areas where, together, they must drive progress, Guterres said, mentioning unifying for peace and security 'particularly to address the appalling situation in Haiti, where gangs are inflicting intolerable suffering on a desperate and frightened people.'
As he and other spoke in Bridgetown, hundreds of miles away in Port-au-Prince panic was spreading through several neighborhoods amid fears that armed groups were once more on the move to attack neighborhoods.
Both the outgoing and incoming chair of the Caribbean Community addressed the situation in Haiti and said it remains a priority for the regional bloc.
'The Haitian people must be at the center of all that we reflect upon,' said Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados and chair of CARICOM.
'Their situation continues to be of major concern to us, and it is not going to be sufficient just to be able to say that Haiti will have an election on Nov. 15. It is not going to be sufficient to just stabilize the security situation,' she said, referring to the date the head of the country's transitional council recently proposed for elections.