The UN has announced plans to establish a new office in Haiti as part of an ongoing mission to stabilize the country. In a BBC article, Haitian UN representative Ericq Pierre said that this was “a decisive turning point in my country’s fight against one of the most serious challenges in its already turbulent history”. According to BBC and Reuters articles, 1.3 million people have been moved out of their homes and many of their villages and cities because of gang attacks. Armed gangs have been going through every part of the country and killing many civilians. This has forced millions to try to find shelter and safety.
The reason for the UN stepping in is because, after the Haitian President was assassinated, gangs have taken over the capital city of Port-Au-Prince. The goal of the mission is to take back control of Haiti and make it a functioning country again.
An alarming statistic highlights the long-term crisis: children make up 50% of these gangs. Addressing this means the UN must also find ways to protect the country’s future generation.
The mission, which first started in 2023, has struggled to stop the gangs from overrunning the entire country. The primary obstacles have been understaffing and underfunding. Last week, Kenyan President William Ruto stated publicly that the mission was facing difficulties with staffing and logistics.
So far they have raised $112,000,000 out of the estimated $800,000,000 they thought they needed. The current force in Haiti is under a thousand, but was meant to be 2,500 when the mission started in 2023. Deploying troops has been a problem for the UN, as many countries are supporting Ukraine and Africa.
The proposed UN office in Haiti is intended to support the mission by providing the UN with slightly more control and improving communications with what remains of the Haitian government. These are definitely steps forward for the mission, but with millions struggling in Haiti, the urgency of the mission needs to be stressed. Establishing a new office in Haiti and increasing the force, will hopefully restore Haiti to its former state.