UN extends Haiti’s Gang Suppression Force mandate for six months

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

The United Nations Security Council voted on Tuesday to extend the mandate of the international Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti until 31 March 2027, aiming to address the escalating violence from gangs and other criminal groups.

The council’s approval came after China, Russia and Pakistan abstained, citing doubts about the measure’s effectiveness. Large portions of the capital, Port‑au‑Prince, remain under the control of organised criminal networks.

Supporters of the task force highlighted its broadened powers. While earlier missions focused mainly on backing Haitian police, the GSF can now 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 reported that about 1,500 GSF troops are presently operating in Haiti, with an additional 4,000 expected to arrive in the coming months.

The GSF, however, is struggling with persistent obstacles such as personnel shortages and funding gaps, currently operating at roughly 30 % of its intended strength.

Critics have also voiced concerns about the legacy of abuses linked to foreign intervention in Haiti.

The current effort follows the earlier Kenyan‑led Multinational Security Support Mission, which concluded in April after similar staffing and financing shortfalls. Its resources were transferred to the GSF.

Haiti’s government first requested international security forces in 2022, arguing that continued assistance is essential to enable nationwide elections.

No national elections have been held since 2016; the last democratically elected senators’ terms expired in 2023. A transitional presidential council formed in 2024, but its mandate ended before elections could be organised. The next round is tentatively scheduled for December.

The power vacuum created by the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse allowed criminal groups to expand their reach, displacing more than 1.5 million people. Between April and June alone, the UN documented 1,408 gang‑related killings and over 650 injuries.

Tuesday’s vote came a day after criminal groups killed at least 11 people and burned homes and buildings in the Artibonite region, in what local officials described as retaliation for the GSF’s killing of three gang members.

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