Haiti’s Peacekeeping Mission: Prospects for Future Stability

Haiti, the world’s first Black republic, has long stood as a symbol of resilience and enduring struggle. Since achieving independence in 1804 through a historic rebellion against colonial rule, the nation has experienced persistent cycles of political instability, economic hardship, and foreign interference. These longstanding structural challenges have weakened its governance institutions and social cohesion, leaving the state vulnerable to recurring crises (UN Geneva, 2025; The Guardian, 2025). In recent years, Haiti’s condition has sharply deteriorated. The 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse created a dangerous power vacuum, triggering an explosion of gang violence and political disorder. With the collapse of law enforcement, violent criminal groups have assumed control of key infrastructure and territory, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Today, much of the country is gripped by chaos, with basic services suspended and citizens trapped in daily insecurity (AP News, 2025a; UN Geneva, 2025). This deepening crisis prompted international concern, leading to the deployment of a United Nations-backed, Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission under UN Resolution 2699 of 2 October 2023 to assist the government of Haiti to restore law and order. However, the mission faces a complex and fragile operational environment, raising urgent questions: Can an external peacekeeping force help reverse the country’s descent into lawlessness? What lessons can be drawn from past interventions? And what policy pathways exist to support durable peace in Haiti? This commentary seeks to answer those questions and proffer policy recommendations.

Key Issues

1. Outlawed Gang Dominance and State Fragility
   The most pressing challenge facing Haiti is the near-total domination of armed gangs over national territory. As of early 2025, approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince was under gang control, up from 75% in 2023. These groups have established parallel governance structures, extorting local populations, regulating movement, and enforcing their forms of justice. The situation has eroded the authority of the Haitian state and rendered national institutions largely irrelevant in gang-dominated zones (AP News, 2025a). Notably, gangs such as G9 and G-Pèp operate with sophisticated command structures and access to high-powered weaponry. Their ranks have expanded significantly, with over 300 active gangs currently operating across Haiti—double the number from 2021. This territorial expansion now threatens rural areas, traditionally less impacted by violence, thereby deepening the country’s humanitarian crisis (AP News, 2025a).
2. Arms Trafficking and Illicit Financing
   Gangs sustain their operations through diverse revenue streams and arms networks. Domestically, they fund their activities via extortion, ransom kidnappings, and control of illicit markets. Internationally, evidence points to arms-smuggling networks supplying weapons to these groups through corrupt elites and transnational criminal actors. The unchecked flow of weapons has emboldened gangs and elevated the scale of violence (Dominican Today, 2025). Recent reports suggest that many of these arms originate from the United States and Latin America, often smuggled through poorly monitored ports. Without coordinated efforts to dismantle these trafficking networks, Haiti’s internal security threats will remain unmanageable (Dominican Today, 2025).

   

3. Weakened Peacekeeping Capacity and Operational Challenges
   The Kenyan-led MSS mission has so far yielded mixed results. While it demonstrates a strong commitment to Haiti’s stabilization, its operational reach remains limited. The mission lacks adequate personnel, resources, and coordination with local actors. Its mandate does not allow for direct engagement with gangs, limiting its ability to reclaim territories or provide consistent protection to vulnerable populations (AP News, 2025b). Moreover, the mission must contend with the legacy of MINUSTAH (2004–2017), whose mismanagement, cultural insensitivity, and human-rights allegations undermined public trust (AP News, 2025b).
4. Domestic Opposition and Kenya’s Legitimacy Questions
   Within Kenya, public backlash has questioned the legality and priority of deploying officers abroad while domestic security challenges persist. Critics point to the absence of parliamentary approval and transparency in mission formation (National Courier, 2025). In Haiti, skepticism of foreign intervention—rooted in past abuses—undermines legitimacy. Without robust local engagement and clear communication, the MSS risks being seen as another externally imposed initiative lacking Haitian ownership (AP News, 2025a).

Conclusion

The peacekeeping mission in Haiti stands at a critical juncture. Without strategic recalibration, it risks becoming another failed intervention in a long history of well-intentioned but poorly executed efforts. However, with a robust mandate, international coordination, and meaningful local engagement, the mission can lay the groundwork for renewed stability. Ultimately, Haiti’s future depends not only on military support but on addressing root causes of instability—poverty, exclusion, impunity, and weak governance. The international community must act decisively and compassionately, recognizing that peace in Haiti is both a regional imperative and a moral responsibility.

Policy Recommendations

1. Addressing Gang Proliferation Through Coordinated Security Reform
   Expand the MSS mandate for robust engagement with armed groups, empower peacekeepers to secure key infrastructure and protect civilians, and invest in capacity-building and anti-corruption reforms for Haiti’s national police. International partners should support intelligence-sharing and cross-border coordination to contain violence.
2. Targeting Illicit Financial and Arms Supply Chains
   Implement stricter export controls and port monitoring in transit countries, enhance UN-led intelligence coordination with the United States and Latin American states to disrupt smuggling routes, deploy financial-tracking systems for ransom payments, and impose targeted sanctions on traffickers and corrupt officials.
3. Strengthening the Peacekeeping Mandate and Resource Mobilization
   Provide specialized units (counter-terrorism, urban operations), ensure language and cultural training, and secure sustained logistical and financial commitments from the UN, EU, African Union, and other donors. Integrate regular assessments and transparency measures to build public confidence.

   

4. Building Local Legitimacy Through Inclusion and Dialogue
   Engage Haitian civil society, local leaders, and grassroots organizations to inform operational strategy and build trust. In Kenya, ensure parliamentary oversight and transparent communication to address legal and legitimacy concerns, strengthening support both at home and in Haiti.

References

1. AP News. (2025a, May 5). Protesters in Haiti demand a new government and more security as anger over gangs spreads. https://apnews.com/article/66b8ce614cfc83f566fd3f8122d90b0d
2. AP News. (2025b, February 25). Haiti: Gang violence displaces 6,000 people in one month. https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2025/02/103711/haiti-gang-violence-displaces-6000-people-one-month
3. Dominican Today. (2025, March 7). Arms trafficking fuels Haiti’s security crisis, reports Le Nouvelliste. https://dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2025/03/07/arms-trafficking-fuels-haitis-security-crisis-reports-le-nouvelliste/
4. National Courier. (2025, February 6). Challenges Facing the Kenya-Led Haiti Peacekeeping Mission. https://nationalcourrier.com/2025/02/06/challenges-facing-the-kenya-led-haiti-peacekeeping-mission/
5. Reuters. (2025, May 2). The US designates a powerful Haitian gang alliance as a transnational terrorist group. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-designates-haitian-gang-alliance-viv-ansanm-transnational-terrorist-group-2025-05-02/
6. The Guardian. (2025, May 2). The US designates two powerful Haitian gangs as terrorist groups. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/02/haiti-gangs-terrorist-groups-us
7. UN Geneva. (2025, January 14). Haiti: Spiralling gang violence has left more than one million displaced. https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2025/01/102186/haiti-spiralling-gang-violence-has-left-more-one-million-displaced
8. Mercy Corps. (2024, December 23). Haiti’s Rising Gang Violence and Sharp Decline in Agricultural Productivity will Push Hunger and Poverty to Unprecedented Extremes in 2025. https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/haiti/haitis-rising-gang-violence-and-sharp-decline-agricultural-productivity-will-push