UN to vote on sending foreign troops to Haiti

The United Nations Security Council will vote on a US-drafted resolution that would authorize a one-year deployment of an outside force to Haiti to help restore security in the Caribbean nation.

The council members will decide on Monday whether to endorse sending an international force to help Haiti's police restore security so the Caribbean nation.

According to the resolution, the force, which would be non-UN funded by voluntary contributions, would be allowed to provide operational support to Haiti's National Police.

It said the force would help build capacity of local police "through the planning and conduct of joint security support operations as it works to counter gangs and improve security conditions in Haiti."

The force would also help secure "critical infrastructure sites and transit locations such as the airport, ports, and key intersections." 

Passage by the Security Council would authorize the force to "adopt urgent temporary measures on an exceptional basis" to prevent the loss of life and help police maintain public safety, it said.

A spokesperson for Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he wasn't aware of the resolution or the upcoming vote.

Speaking before the UN General Assembly in mid-September, Henry again called on the international community to provide "urgent" aid to his nation

The United States has expressed willingness to provide logistical support but no boots on the ground.

It said last month that several other countries were prepared to contribute to a multinational security force.

Those countries include Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda.

Kenya also announced in late July that it was ready to take on the lead-nation role and deploy a 1,000-strong force to the country.

Haiti has been plagued by widespread gang violence for almost two years. A recent UN report from the secretary-general's office said on Wednesday that  violence by the gangs who control much of the capital Port-au-Prince and some areas beyond, had become more intense and more brutal.

It said gangs using rape as a weapon; snipers on rooftops terrorizing local residents; and even people being burned alive.

According to the report, nearly 2,800 murders had been tallied between October 2022 and June 2023, including 80 killings of minors.

The violence has impeded access to healthcare facilities, forced the closure of schools and clinics, and worsened already dire food insecurity in the county.

Earlier this year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that more than 115,600 Haitian children were expected to suffer from “severe acute malnutrition,” in 2023.

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