UN extends mandate of Gang Suppression Force in Haiti for six months

Security force members deployed to Haiti have struggled to make progress against criminal groups as violence continues.

Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25 [Ryan Murphy/Getty Images via AFP]

The United Nations Security Council has voted to extend the mandate of an international security task force deployed to Haiti to address escalating violence from gangs and other criminal groups.

The council voted on Tuesday to extend the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) until March 31, 2027.

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China, Russia and Pakistan abstained from the vote, citing concerns over the measure’s effectiveness. Gang violence has remained stubbornly high in Haiti, with much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, under the control of organised criminal networks.

Still, proponents of the task force highlighted its expanded mandate. Whereas a previous effort was focused primarily on supporting Haitian police, the GSF has the ability to coordinate with Haiti’s military or act independently.

“Seven missions have been dedicated to Haiti over the previous decades, and obviously to limited success,” said Mike Waltz, the United States ambassador to the UN who co-sponsored the resolution. “We’re trying to do something genuinely different.”

Waltz said that about 1,500 GSF troops are currently operating in Haiti, with the remaining 4,000 expected to arrive in the coming months.

But the GSF has struggled to cope with obstacles that have plagued similar efforts in the past, including personnel shortfalls and questions about funding.

Critics have also expressed reservations about international intervention , given a history of abuses in Haiti resulting from foreign involvement.

The current task force is operating at about 30 percent of its intended size. It follows a Kenyan-led police deployment, known as the Multinational Security Support Mission, that was authorised to support Haiti’s National Police.

After staffing and funding shortfalls, the mission concluded in April, with resources transitioning to the GSF.

Haiti’s government first asked the international community to send security forces in 2022 and has insisted that further help is necessary if the country is to hold nationwide elections.

It has been almost a decade since Haiti held national elections, with the last democratically elected senators seeing their terms expire in 2023.

A transitional presidential council was formed in 2024, only to see its mandate end before elections could be held. National elections have been repeatedly delayed, with the next round tentatively set for December.

Criminal groups have become more powerful in Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, which created a leadership vacuum in the country.

Experts say gangs have taken advantage of the instability and legitimacy crisis in the government to expand their reach across the country.

That growth has also set off a wave of violence, with more than 1.5 million people displaced from their homes. Between April and June alone, the UN documented 1,408 killings, as well as more than 650 injuries related to gang violence.

Tuesday’s vote occurred one day after criminal groups killed at least 11 people and burned homes and buildings in the Artibonite region, in what a mayor said was an act of retaliation following the killing of three gang members by GSF forces.

部署到海地的安全部队成员在打击犯罪集团方面举步维艰，暴力事件仍在持续。

海地总理阿利克斯·迪迪埃·菲尔斯-艾梅于9月25日在联合国大会第81届会议上发表讲话。[图片来源：Ryan Murphy/Getty Images via AFP]

联合国安理会投票决定延长部署到海地的国际安全工作组的任务期限，该工作组旨在应对帮派和其他犯罪集团日益升级的暴力活动。

市议会周二投票决定将打击帮派犯罪部队（GSF）的期限延长至 2027 年 3 月 31 日。

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中国、俄罗斯和巴基斯坦因担忧该措施的有效性而投了弃权票。海地的帮派暴力活动居高不下，首都太子港的大部分地区仍被有组织犯罪网络控制。

尽管如此，该特别工作组的支持者仍强调其职权范围的扩大。此前的工作组主要侧重于支持海地警方，而全球安全部队则有能力与海地军方协调行动，或独立开展工作。

“过去几十年里，我们曾七次派遣特派团前往海地，但显然收效甚微，”​​美国常驻联合国代表迈克·沃尔兹说道，他是该决议的共同发起人之一。“我们正努力尝试一些真正不同的做法。”

沃尔兹表示，目前约有 1500 名 GSF 士兵在海地执行任务，其余 4000 名士兵预计将在未来几个月内抵达。

但 GSF 一直难以应对过去类似努力中遇到的障碍，包括人员短缺和资金问题。

鉴于外国干预在海地造成过诸多侵犯人权的行为，批评人士也对国际干预表示保留意见。

目前的特遣部队规模约为其预定规模的30%。此前，肯尼亚领导的多国安全支援特派团（MSMS）已部署警力，旨在支援海地国家警察。

由于人员和资金短缺，该任务于 4 月结束，资源转移到了 GSF。

海地政府于 2022 年首次请求国际社会派遣安全部队，并坚持认为，如果该国要举行全国选举，则需要进一步的援助。

海地已经近十年没有举行全国选举了，上一届民选参议员的任期将于 2023 年到期。

2024年成立了过渡总统委员会，但其任期在选举举行前结束。全国大选一再推迟，下一轮选举暂定于12月举行。

2021年海地总统若弗内尔·莫伊兹遇刺身亡后，该国出现领导真空，犯罪集团势力也随之壮大。

专家表示，犯罪团伙利用政府的不稳定和合法性危机，扩大了其在全国的影响力。

这种增长也引发了一波暴力浪潮，导致超过150万人流离失所。仅在4月至6月期间，联合国就记录了1408起杀戮事件，以及650多起与帮派暴力相关的受伤事件。

周二的投票发生在犯罪团伙在阿蒂博尼特地区杀害至少 11 人并烧毁房屋和建筑物的第二天。一位市长称，这是对 GSF 部队击毙三名帮派成员的报复行为。