A New Force for Haiti: Promise or Repetition?
As gang violence pushes Haiti to the brink of collapse, the UN’s new security force offers hope, while simultaneously reviving classic fears of foreign overreach.
On September 30, the United Nations Security Council approved a new international force for Haiti, a 5,550-member Gang Suppression Force (GSF) designed to confront the country’s current wave of gang violence and political collapse. The U.S.-backed resolution passed with 12 votes in favor and abstentions from China, Pakistan, and Russia, signaling widespread but hesitant support for another intervention in the Caribbean nation.
The GSF replaces the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, launched in 2023 but crippled by underfunding and restricted manpower. That smaller mission never managed to contain gangs that now control about 85 percent of Port-au-Prince. Haiti’s security vacuum has only expanded since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, leaving state institutions deadlocked and violence unchecked.
“The international community failed Haiti with [MSS]. It didn’t have the opportunity to demonstrate whether it was effective or not,” said an analyst with the International Crisis Group.
The new force will work closely with the Haitian National Police and armed forces to conduct intelligence-based operations, protect civilians, and secure key infrastructure. It will also have the power to detain suspected gang members, implementing a more aggressive mandate than its predecessor, the MSS. Alongside the force, the UN is establishing a Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH) to provide logistics, medical aid, and communications support.
More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in 2024, and nearly 1.3 million Haitians are displaced. The situation on the ground can best be described by the UN as a “multi-dimensional humanitarian emergency” as kidnappings, sexual violence, and food insecurity continue to spread.
The GSF brings hope, as officials from Washington to Nairobi describe the GSF as a “turning point.” U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz said the mission is “five times the size of its predecessor,” while Haiti’s own UN representative, Ericq Pierre, called it “a decisive moment in the country’s fight for survival.”
But not everyone is convinced. And perhaps rightfully so. Haiti’s history with foreign forces, including a prior UN peacekeeping mission that introduced cholera and allegations of sexual abuse and rape from peacekeepers, has left deep mistrust in the international order.
The GSF thus represents both hope and hesitation: a chance to restore order, but also a reminder of how fragile international aid can be when it substitutes for local governance. Haiti’s future stability may depend less on the force’s strength than on whether it can eventually make itself unnecessary, leaving behind not occupation, but sovereignty.