GNV News — October 6, 2024

On September 30, 2024, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to extend for one year the mandate of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission deployed in Haiti since 2023. The mission is led by Kenyan police units and has been introduced as a response to Haiti’s sharply deteriorating security in recent years. Although there was a proposal to convert it into a formal UN peacekeeping operation (PKO), it was shelved this time. The force currently deployed numbers only about 410 people.

As the Haitian government’s governance capacity declines, armed groups (gangs) are expanding their influence. On October 3, there were reports that an attack by armed groups left 70 people dead, including women and children. This deterioration in security has also led to severe food insecurity affecting an estimated 5.4 million people—about half of Haiti’s population. Many people have been displaced both inside and outside the country, and the number of internally displaced persons has nearly doubled over the past six months, surpassing 700,000. Refugees are also entering the neighboring Dominican Republic, but the government there has taken a hardline stance, announcing that it will expel 10,000 Haitian migrants per week.

Learn more about the background to Haiti’s challenges and the military intervention → “Haiti: The absence of government and its prospects”

Learn about Haiti’s history up to the present → “Overview of a turbulent Haiti”

Learn more about the Dominican Republic → “Dominican Republic: Domestic realities through the lens of international affairs”

Scene from a displacement camp in Haiti (Photo: Pan American Health Organization / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])