UN Security Council’s Haiti Dilemma: Peacekeeping or Pragmatic Support
In the year 2025, Haiti is at a cusp. An upsurge of gang violence, the uncontrolled corruption, and worsening of existing humanitarian needs have forced the United Nations Security Council and its partners to face a central challenge: whether the international community should persistently seek to establish the weighty influence of a complete UN peacekeeping or maintain a tactical and narrow interventionism.
The Security Council Committee that was constituted in line with Resolution 2653 (2022) recently met to consider the work of the Panel of Experts on the interim report and the future of international involvement in Haiti. It is also about reclaiming hope, stability, and democratic governance in a country that is plagued by a crisis, not just about security and logistical matters.
The Security and Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti
Escalating Violence and Displacement
The security environment in Haiti has gone downhill. By the onset of 2025, gang violence will take over 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, leaving thousands of individuals dead, with more than 360,000 people internally displaced. Over one-half of the population is in need of humanitarian aid, and the children are particularly at risk of being starved and beaten. Failures of the state authority have led to the situation where militia groups have taken the opportunity to fill the gap, hampering the process of reasserting authority and providing relief.
Violence has been condemned by the United Nations and its partners several times. In her speech delivered to the UN, the Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly emphasized that
“Gang violence and unchecked corruption in Haiti have created a disaster for the population,”
emphasizing that the world cannot afford to be passive when citizens are suffering. Canada has already spent more than 100 million to help Haitians, and Joly has requested that all the parties involved in the matter stick with the agreed change plan.
Humanitarian Needs and International Response
The humanitarian tragedy is worsened by the collapse of non-health services such as education and social services. The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, headed by Ambassador Robert Rae, has called for a rapid increase in the provision of humanitarian aid, displaced persons assistance, and re-establishment of basic services. According to the resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in April 2025, the international community needs to coordinate its efforts, provide technical support, and capacity building in order to assist Haiti to regain security and reinforce the rule of law, as well as fight against gender-linked violence and corruption.
The UN’s Security Mandate and the MSS Mission
Multinational Security Support Mission
As a reaction to the increasing crisis, the Security Council authorized a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Resolution 2751 (2024). With Kenya in the lead, the MSS has the responsibility of assisting the Haitian National Police to assume state control in the neighborhoods controlled by gangs. Nevertheless, the mission will be ridden with substantial problems, such as resource shortage, operational risk, as well as the fact that it will be working in a fragmented security landscape.
The interim report released by the Panel of Experts shows that sanctions should be implemented, illicit arms and financial flows toward the gangs lifted, and oversight and accountability increased. The clear operational parameters of the protection of civilians and the avoidance of abuses were also emphasized in the report.
Peacekeeping or Pragmatic Support?
Confusion has further increased about whether the MSS mission should be converted to a full UN peacekeeping endeavor. The UN Secretary-General warned against this transformation in a February 2025 letter, on the basis of feasibility and the dangers of using a large-scale peacekeeping force in the present environment. Rather, he suggested that a UN Support Office be established with the sole purpose of giving full logistical and operational support to the MSS and to fuel it to an extent that was both assessed and voluntary.
This practical solution is linked to failure, or rather a mixed record of past peacekeeping activities in Haiti. The Security Council Committee has pointed out that there has been a dire need for “coordinated and targeted international action” to assist Haiti in restoring its security and in curbing the humanitarian crisis.
Political Transition and Governance Challenges
Tensions Within Haiti’s Transitional Leadership
Political change in Haiti is still highly tense and uncertain. The Transitional Presidential Council and the former Prime Minister have been at loggerheads due to the foreign policy, oversight system, as well as corruption allegations. The differences of opinion over the transition process and the publishing of important political arrangements have continued to make the process of regaining democratic institutions hard.
Political parties and civil society groups have urged people to unite and make governance and anti-corruption practices their top priority. The trust of people in the transitional leadership has been diminishing, and the introduction of a broader public dialogue and assigning a judge of the Court of Cassation to head the transition in case of need was suggested.
The Role of the International Community
The G7 has pledged its force in enabling Haiti to restore democracy, security, and stability. In March 2025, the G7 Foreign Ministers made a stern condemnation of the persisting violence in Haiti, and they supported the Haitian National Police, the MSS mission, which was led by Kenya, and a greater UN role. They assisted Haiti in developing a separate anti-corruption jurisdiction as well, one that passes specific international standards.
The Human Rights Council has urged the Haitian Government to “step up its efforts to ensure respect for and the promotion and protection of human rights, to strengthen the rule of law, including the judicial and prison systems, and to combat gender-based violence and discrimination, as well as corruption and impunity.”
Sanctions, Oversight, and Accountability
Implementing Sanctions and Halting Illicit Flows
Another essential area of the work of the Security Council Committee is to monitor the imposition of sanctions and to consider the effectiveness of the measures applied to stop illicit arms and monetary transference to gangs. To cut and break the networks that perpetuate gang violence, the Panel of Experts has proposed better enforcement tools, greater monitoring systems, and intensification of international cooperation.
However, sanctions cannot be successful on their own. The Committee and its partners are aware that sanctions need to be combined with the support of Haitian institutions, technical assistance, and sustainable development investing. It is aimed at establishing conditions under which long-term stability and resilience can be achieved rather than a short-term decrease in violence.
Building Local Capacity and Restoring Rule of Law
To ensure that the individuals involved in the rape are put to justice, fundamental security must be restored and the justice system in Haiti rebuilt to restore the confidence of the people. The monthly actions of the Security Council of January 2025 included requests that all means be used to avert the illegal employment of violence and the injury of local communities, as well as clear parameters to protect the lives of civilians and an efficient redress channel in favor of the victims. The international community has also been facilitating the holding of free and transparent elections by February 2026, which is a major requisite in the reinstatement of democratic governance.
Voices from the International Community
In her interview with one of the Canadian news stations, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly stressed the necessity of foreign intervention:
“Gang violence and unchecked corruption in Haiti have created a disaster for the population. This must not be tolerated. It is essential that all stakeholders continue to abide by the agreed transition process. The future of Haiti relies on a stable, democratically elected government, the restoration of security, and improved socio-economic conditions. None of these are possible while gangs hold Haitians hostage”.
For Canada’s support to Haiti to be effective, it must be well-coordinated and integrated. The Haitian people deserve no less.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) June 15, 2023
That’s why we held a ministerial meeting on Haiti and announced the Canada-led Joint security coordination cell.
🧵⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4rVJnpwjja
The Path Forward: Choices and Challenges
The Haitian predicament experienced by the UN Security Council is symbolic of the larger issues within the international endeavour of peace and security in fragile states. The decision as to whether to stage a full-fledged peacekeeping mission or one characterized by more practical, selective intervention is not only a technically-based one, but is an expression of a greater accounting of what the frontiers and potential of international activity should be.
The rest of the month this year will determine whether the mission of MSS, with strong logistics and operations support, will be able to restore control of states and provide for civilians. Haiti is going to succeed recovery depending on the effectiveness of sanctions, humanitarian aid, and reforms in the government. During the time when the Security Council contemplates the next move, the concern of the Haitians, who need security, dignity, and hope, will echo in the international response.
