Members of the first contingent of Kenyan police offers stand in formation after arriving in the Caribbean country as part of a peacekeeping mission, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti June 26, 2024.
Plans are underway to replace the Kenya-led peace mission in Haiti with a new force, the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which will be tasked with eliminating criminal squads causing chaos in the Caribbean country.
This week, the United States and Panama proposed to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Organisation of American States (OAS) the creation of a new entity made up of officers from various countries to help restore peace in Haiti.
It is no secret that there are plans to replace the Kenyan-led mission, whose term ends in the first week of October. However, it is unclear how the new force will differ from the previous one, as both are tasked with fighting off criminal gangs in Haiti.
Members of the Kenyan National Police Service hold a Kenyan flag after disembarking in Port-au-Prince, Haiti June 25, 2024.
On Thursday, the two countries announced that they are working on a draft outlining how the new force will operate. According to the two countries, the mission of the GSF is to combat the gangs destabilising the country.
If the proposal is approved, the GSF will consist of over 5,500 officers tasked with eliminating the Haitian gangs now operating under a group called Viv Ansanm, led by Jimmy Cherizier, also known as Barbecue.
Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea informed the UNSC that Kenya has greatly assisted in the peacekeeping mission it has led since June 2024.
She thanked Kenya for answering Haiti’s call "at a critical moment" and for leading a multinational force for over a year. She said that without Kenya's efforts, "the gangs would have been even more emboldened in their ambitions and brazen atrocities against civilians in Haiti."
This week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also sent a request to the UNSC members, asking them to approve a UN-backed international force in Haiti.
UNSC member countries include five permanent members with veto power: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The other 10 members are Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia.
China and Russia have previously stated that they would not support a UN-funded mission in Haiti, arguing that the country should address its challenges independently.
"I urge the council to act without delay and authorise a UN-backed international force with predictable funding," Guterres said.
In February, Guterres proposed establishing an office to provide drones, fuel, ground and air transportation, and other non-lethal support to the Kenya-led mission.
The first contingent of Kenyan police officers arrived in Haiti in June 2024, and they have since been engaging with gangs with the aim of eradicating them.
Kenya has already said that it backs any fresh talks on the future of the Haiti peace mission that it leads, even though the directive by the US will dilute its central role.
In an interview with the Nation, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Abraham Korir Sing’oei, said that Nairobi welcomes such discussions but stressed that the ultimate goal must be to restore peace in Haiti.
“From the beginning, Kenya's interest has been to ensure that peace is restored in Haiti. The US has already proposed establishing a group of partners to revamp Haiti's security force, which is the right approach," said Dr Sing'oei.
One-year agreement
Plans to establish a new force emerged just days after it was revealed that Erik Prince, a former US Navy SEAL, would soon deploy nearly 200 personnel from various countries to Haiti as part of a one-year agreement to quell gang violence.
According to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, the deployment by Vectus Global is meant to help the Haitian government recover vast swaths of territory seized in the past year and now controlled by heavily armed gangs.
The UN boss also told the UNSC that the situation in Haiti is dire, with over 1.3 million people, half of whom are children, displaced.
"The humanitarian toll is staggering: One point three million people — half of them children — have fled their homes. Six million people need humanitarian assistance," Guterres said.
He also noted that Haiti has the least funded humanitarian appeal globally, despite the challenges its citizens face.
A man holds placards near a burning barricade during a protest against gang-related violence and to demand the resignation of Haiti's transitional presidential council, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 15, 2025.
Meanwhile, during the OAS meeting, Haiti’s Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime said that the country is on the right path to holding an election.
Didier presented the priorities of the Haitian transition and called for increased international support.
He said that security remained the top priority of his government and denounced the gangs that dominate much of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city. He discussed the resumption of control of the administrative centre, securing national roads, and strengthening security forces.
In preparation for the election, he said 85 percent of polling stations were ready, 70 percent of electoral staff had been mobilized, and 8.3 billion had been secured to conduct the election.
Despite its preparation levels, Haiti still faces security challenges and relies on other countries to help eliminate the gangs that have caused mayhem there for years.
