U.N. Security Council Approves Establishment of Multinational ‘Gang Suppression Force’ In Haiti

Since the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gang violence in Haiti has escalated at a rapid and aggressive rate. Between October 2024 and July 2025, U.N. reports have counted over 4,000 deaths, with hundreds more reported as injured, raped, or trafficked as massacres become routine. Ninety percent of the capital, Port-Au-Prince, is under gang control, and brutality at the hands of armed groups has forced extended closures of Haiti’s international airport. The Haitian National Police (PNH) has struggled to exert control over the violence due to the overwhelming force at which it has accelerated, and even contributed to the hostility. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has found the police responsible for over 170 summary executions and over 500 deaths from explosive drones, events which have been reported consistently for violating international law. The U.N. has also noted that the gangs have started to extend their territorial control beyond central Haiti and towards the border of the Dominican Republic, resulting in increasing human rights violations in areas with limited state presence. As the reach of gang violence expands, an estimated 1.3 million people have been displaced, over half of which are children. Multiple attempts launched by the PNH and Multinational Security Support (MSS) were largely unsuccessful in maintaining a lasting presence or in protecting local communities. The MSS, a Kenya-led organization which was initially established to train and support the PNH, especially struggled to gain traction due to a lack of funding and personnel. At a speech delivered to the Human Rights Council’s 60th Session on the human rights situation in Haiti, Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, professed his belief that the violence had “reached a boiling point,” and that without actual international backing and commitment, the worst could be yet to come. 

In the most recent international effort to bring peace to the region, the United Nations Security Council voted to approve the implementation of the ‘Gang Suppression Force,’ (GSF) a larger force of police officers and soldiers from around the world. The GSF will effectively replace the MSS, incorporating its Kenyan fighters, and will be able to act independently of the PNH. Ideally, this will allow the GSF to separate itself from any of the system’s human rights violations, although as it is ultimately a foreign apparatus, it faces a similar level of distrust within Haiti. Its core objectives are centered around intelligence-led operations to deconstruct and neutralize armed gangs, strengthen infrastructure, and secure more comprehensive humanitarian access while protecting the population of Haiti. Although it is operating independently from the PNH, it will collaborate with Haitian authorities with the intention of eventually developing the country’s ability to assume responsibility for its own security. During U.N. Security Council draft resolutions, several council members including Denmark, Greece, Slovenia, and the UK, also advocated for clear language regarding children and armed conflict. This was influenced by the U.N.'s estimate that 30 to 50 percent of gang members in Haiti are children, leading to the addition of references to child protection and the protection of “vulnerable groups”  in the GSF’s planning and strategizing protocol. Gang members effectively replaced the government as providers of food, shelter, and security, forcing children into recruitment in exchange for these basic survival needs.Young boys are often used as informants, trained in weaponry and ammunition, and deployed in police clashes, while young girls are often sexually abused or forced into domestic servitude. Organizations working in Haiti recommend the U.N. implements training for deployed forces regarding child protection and safeguarding prior to deployment, as well as training on the prevention of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation. 

U.N. officials have emphasized repeatedly that security efforts alone can not resolve the disorder and gang brutality, and that humanitarian, economic, and governmental systems will need to be fortified, solutions which had been previously delayed by the aforementioned natural disasters and inhibiting foreign intervention. While GSF operations have not yet begun, the mandate began on October 2, 2025, following the expiration of the MSS mandate. 

From the perspective of Haitian officials, the force is a welcomed move in the right direction. Ericq Pierre, Haiti’s ambassador to the U.N., called it a “decisive turning point” in Haiti’s fight against “one of the most serious challenges in its already turbulent history.” Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, praised the resolution’s adoption and the message it sends to “criminal groups and potential supporters.” Despite this optimism at a governmental level, Haitian civilians are skeptical of how much the GSF will accomplish. Mario Jean-Baptiste, who lives with his three children in an overcrowded shelter, witnessed his home destroyed by gangs last year. He emphasized Haiti’s need for “people who are really going to go after these guys,” not “the jokers” who had attempted to solve these issues in the past after the international mandate. When questioned about her opinions on the GSF, one woman yelled, “They’re not coming here to do anything!” before walking off to a makeshift shelter. Following a history of failed international gang suppression operations and obstruction of Haiti’s development by countries such as the United States and France, this skepticism can be expected. Haitian civilians have little reason to believe that the latest force deployment will be any more effective than those prior. Many believe the true solution will be a “Haitian-led solution,” such as developing stable electricity and internet infrastructure for the island. The significant challenge of building public trust in international institutions persists: Marc Prou, of the Patriotic Congress for National Rescue, argued that Haitians can not be expected to “rely on something that has already failed to deliver.” He explained that the Patriotic Congress, Haiti’s national summit, created a commission dedicated to security with an emphasis on moving away from foreign intervention. 

The Congress called for a “patriotic awakening,” motivated by frustration towards foreign-led strategies that had only deepened Haiti’s crisis. It is now organizing National Rescue Assemblies, uniting political parties and civil society in conversation. These Assemblies plan to produce a roadmap regarding a potential power transfer and proposed national conference by February of 2026. Leaders argue that without working from within Haiti first, international troops will just serve as a bandage, and that ultimately Haiti needs stronger support for its own institutions rather than more international intervention.  

It will take time for the GSF to build up its force to the target of 5,500 security personnel and 50 civilian staff, meaning the timeline for when operations will officially begin is still uncertain. According to the Security Council’s resolution, the funding will be sourced through voluntary contributions from U.N. member states. Even still, it is not yet clear which countries specifically will provide personnel and monetary support, making the provision of personnel and funding increasingly less dependable. Rather than direct and unadvised intervention, which has previously not been sufficiently funded or supported, it is crucial for Haiti to be the main seat at the table. Foreign aid, under the direction of the Haitian government, to fund and strengthen programs that the Patriotic Congress is working on, would not only give them back control over their own country but also serve as a solution to the issue at hand.