US changes tack on Haiti peacekeeping push amid China, Russia opposition

United Nations: The United States has dropped a push for the UN Security Council to ask for a plan to transform a security mission helping fight armed gangs in Haiti into a formal UN peacekeeping operation, a move some diplomats said was made to appease Russia and China.

A senior US administration official, however, pushed back against that assessment, saying Washington changed its strategy to support a call last week by the head of Haiti's transition council, Edgard Leblanc, for a UN peacekeeping mission.

"It is not at all that we are bowing to those who might not have the best interests of the Haitian people at heart," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are being strategic about how we're going about this and building on the shot of momentum that we heard from the Haitian president."

The 15-member Security Council will vote on Monday on a draft resolution to extend the mandate for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission until October 2, 2025. The UN first approved the mission a year ago after the Caribbean country asked for assistance.

Diplomats say Russia and China did not want the council to ask for a plan to transition the UN-backed security force to a formal UN peacekeeping operation, so the US removed that language from the draft resolution, seen by Reuters.

Russia wants to allow more time for the security force to establish itself, Deputy Russian UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Sunday, adding: "We don't want to prejudge MSS's outcome. Too early to make conclusions."

'Full success'

Haitian leaders speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last week warned of worsening insecurity in the country despite the partial deployment of the security force.

Powerful gangs, armed with weapons largely trafficked from the United States, have united in the capital under a common alliance and now control most of the city and are expanding to nearby areas.

Leblanc told the UN General Assembly on Thursday, "I am convinced that this change of status, whilst recognizing that the errors of the past cannot be repeated, would guarantee the full success of the mission in Haiti."

The senior US official said Washington would "work with partners over the coming weeks to support that call." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue of transforming the security force into a UN peacekeeping operation during a visit to Haiti earlier this month.

Many Haitians are wary of an armed UN presence after previous missions left behind a devastating cholera epidemic and sex abuse scandals. The current Kenyan-led international security mission, while authorised by the UN Security Council, is not a United Nations operation.

Countries voluntarily provide money and personnel. The mission has made little progress toward helping Haiti restore order with only 400 Kenyan police officers on the ground so far and a shortfall in funding.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier this month that establishing a UN peacekeeping force would not be the best solution for Haiti, which faces a humanitarian crisis with mass displacements, sexual violence and widespread hunger.

Gang violence has displaced more than 700,000 people in Haiti, according to U\N estimates.