Does Kenya's Peace and Security Mission in Haiti Have a Chance of Success?

The Haitian Security Support Mission (MSS) was approved in October 2023 with the goal of bringing order and peace to the country;
This new Kenyan-led mission is the latest in a series of attempts to stabilize Haiti sociopolitically;
The MSS could bring geopolitical advantages and disadvantages to both Haiti and Kenya.

For many years, Haiti has been experiencing political tensions, gang wars and natural disasters that have triggered a series of socio-economic problems. Since 1993, a series of missions have been designed by the UN Security Council to bring peace to the country. However, the missions bring a false sense of stability to the country, as their success is always temporary.

The most recent mission in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, is led by Kenya and was approved by the UN Security Council at the end of 2023.

What is Kenya’s Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti?

In October 2023, while Brazil presided over the UN Security Council, the creation of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti was approved with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions. The text has the main purpose of restoring law and order that has reached a critical state following the worsening of civil conflicts and gang violence.

The mission is estimated to last, initially, 12 months and is led by Kenya, which volunteered to lead the mission and requested international contributions. Also according to the text voted on by the council:

The costs will be covered by voluntary contributions from UN Member States and regional organizations, through the provision of personnel, equipment, financial and logistical resources;
The Mission may adopt urgent measures alongside the Haitian National Police;
The states that have committed to assist, Haiti and the leadership of the Mission must regularly update the Council and the UN Secretary-General;
The Mission must provide a mechanism to prevent human rights violations and allow free and fair elections in the country.

In the Council, China stressed the importance of having a legitimate government in Haiti and in-depth consultations with the country’s citizens on the issue. The United States recalled the importance of the mission in strengthening human rights in the country. Haitian representatives expressed gratitude for the resolution.

In May, a delegation was sent to check on the United States’ preparations for implementing the mission, and William Ruto, President of Kenya, met with Joe Biden at the White House, who pledged support for the mission.

In addition, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica have committed to sending troops to Haitian territory. Canada, France and the United States have deposited US$18 million in the Trust Fund for the mission.

The first security forces arrived in Port-au-Prince in June 2024… a common sight in recent decades…

History of security and peacekeeping missions in Haiti

When Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021, Prime Minister Ariel Henry took power without calling democratic elections. Even though his term was due to end in 2022, he continued to postpone the elections.

Since then, gang warfare and violent crime have only increased in the country. This was exacerbated by a new cholera outbreak in 2022 and a new major earthquake in 2023.

The Kenyan mission is not the first attempt at peacemaking in Haiti, which is constantly suffering from political and economic crises and natural disasters, but the latest in a series of missions that have achieved temporary success.

Some examples are:

UNMIH (United Nations Mission in Haiti) between 1993 and 1996

The country’s first democratic election after a dictatorial regime and a series of interim governments took place in 1990. However, elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed in a military coup the following year. This mission aimed to restore democracy to the country.

In 1996, then-Haitian President René Préval expressed interest in building an effective police force in the country, but the United Nations still had concerns about this, claiming that the Haitian National Police would not yet be able to guarantee a democratic and secure environment.

A new one-year mission was therefore established with the main objective of assisting and training the Haitian police.

Other missions were carried out until 2000 to support, train and develop the Haitian National Police.

MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) between 2004 and 2017

The attempt to stabilize the country did not last, since in 2001 the opposition refused to accept the result of the presidential election that elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide. This climate of impasse and tension led to the growth of rebel gangs and violence.

In 2004, Canada supported the forced removal of President Aristide from power. An interim government headed by Gérard Latortue was appointed by a council formed by people from France, Canada and the United States.

After Aristide’s formal resignation and exile, in addition to the exponential growth of the climate of tension in Port-au-Prince, the United Nations Security Council created an international force led by Brazil to ensure order and peace in Haiti.

This “soft” coup also led to the creation of the Core Group, formed by the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Brazil and the Organization of American States, which shapes Haitian politics to this day. The group’s goal was to resolve Haiti’s socioeconomic crises and democracy. However, critics accuse them of undemocratic interference in the country’s internal affairs.

After ten years of MINUSTAH, the Haitian citizens were dissatisfied with the constant presence of UN troops on their territory. Thus, in 2013, the Haitian Senate approved the end of the mission, but the Security Council ignored it and decided to keep the troops in the country.

Many Haitians accused the mission’s troops of abuses and disproportionate violence, including the murder of civilians, political repression of protests, and the start of a cholera epidemic in the country. The disease had been eradicated but resurfaced with the contamination of the Artibonite River by sewage from a Nepalese base of the mission.

The UN absolved itself of blame for the epidemic, stating that environmental and epidemiological conditions contributed to the spread of the virus. Only in 2016 did Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, apologize for the Organization’s inaction in dealing with the case, which resulted in 10,000 deaths.

Furthermore, the results of a survey conducted with more than 2,000 Haitians on sexual abuse and exploitation by UN soldiers against women and children in the country were published in 2019, entitled “They put a few coins in your hands to drop a baby in you – 265 stories of Haitian children abandoned by UN fathers”. In the survey, 265 people agreed to tell their stories of violence suffered.

Despite constant complaints from Haitian citizens, the UN was also passive in the situation.

From the point of view of the Peacekeeping Operations Detachment (Dopaz) – the name given to the troop of Brazilian army men sent to pacify the most violent favelas in Haiti – the mission was positive. It was the first to enter Bel Air, Cité Militaire and Cité Soleil, the places considered the most dangerous in Port-au-Prince.

In addition, Dopaz fought drug trafficking by large international organizations, carried out prevention and diagnostic actions on storms and hurricanes and identified gang leaders. In other words, MINUSTAH had positive aspects of bringing temporary peace to areas of Haiti with chronic security problems. However, the mission ended too soon and progress in this area was lost.

MINUJUSTH (United Nations Justice Support Mission in Haiti) between 2017 and 2019

In 2017, the UN Security Council approved the replacement of MINUSTAH by MINUJUSTH. This new mission aimed to focus on legal and institutional aspects of Haiti, strengthening human rights, the judicial system and the democratic rule of law.

However, the Haitian National Police (PNH) – which was being trained by the UN – was accused of failing to respect human rights and using violence against the population that was protesting demanding the impeachment of President Jovenel Moïse.

Protests grew when Haiti’s High Court of Auditors found that Moïse had allegedly embezzled US$2 billion from an energy cooperation agreement subsidized by Venezuela, which subsequently broke the agreement, leaving Port-au-Prince with a large debt.

With rising inflation and fuel shortages, protests grew and several citizens were killed in clashes with the HNP, which showed a failure in the training provided by UN troops and, consequently, by the mission.

BINUH (United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti) since 2019

With the end of MINUJUSTH, BINUH came into force, with the objective of promoting political stability, good governance and human rights. This mission has no military presence and acts in an advisory capacity, supporting and advising the country’s institutions. The office is governed by the United Nations and does not have a leading country.

This mission remains in force and it is necessary for the UN to change its actions to meet the needs of the population.

The positive and negative aspects of Kenya’s new security mission in Haiti

Like all other missions, the new Multinational Security Support Mission has its advantages and disadvantages, which are interesting to analyze.

Advantages

For the first time, the mission is led by an African country. Haiti is a country with a large African descent and this may lead to greater comfort with Kenyan troops;
A successful mission may lead to a reduction in violence and conflicts between gangs;
The mission may bring support and collaboration with the local judicial and police systems;
In addition, a positive mission may bring prestige to Kenya on the international stage;
The first peacekeeping mission led by an African country, it may give the troops more credibility with the population.

Disadvantages

Kenya does not speak French, which may cause communication problems;
Despite having the second largest economy in East Africa, Kenya still does not have the best financial power and troops;
The Kenyan population has been struggling with excessive tax increases and a wave of protests against the liberal government of President William Ruto have been taking place in the country, which raises doubts about Nairobi’s ability to bring peace to another territory;
As with previous missions, there is concern about possible abuse of power by the troops sent to the mission;
Kenya also faces other obstacles, since the country’s High Court ruled the sending of troops to Haiti unconstitutional;
A part of the Kenyan population also does not approve of sending troops to Haitian territory.

Even with a part of the Kenyan population protesting against and agreeing with the decision of the Kenyan High Court that sending troops to Haiti is classified as unconstitutional, Nairobi still continued to lead the mission.

Furthermore, some social movements such as ALBA Movements and the International Assembly of Peoples (AIP) released a statement at the end of June 2024 stating that the mission and foreign intervention in Haiti will only prolong the crisis in the country. The groups advocated not foreign intervention in the country, but self-determination for the Haitian people.

Although this is a noble desire, it is unrealistic. A country with very weak institutions, widespread poverty and lack of security would hardly be able to prosper without strong help from the international community. As the examples of Somalia or Afghanistan show, when “failed states” are abandoned by the international community, they quickly tend to become anarchies controlled by drug traffickers, terrorists and warlords.

What are the real chances of Haiti reaching peace with Kenya and what does this mean for the East African power?

The Kenyan-led mission in Haiti has an initial period of 12 months, which is not enough for a challenge as great as restoring peace in a country.

Despite the constant problems that Haiti faces, such as natural disasters, gang wars and socio-political problems, a long-term mission with a lot of planning is needed to be effective in maintaining peace and political stability in the country and, at the same time, not causing dissatisfaction among citizens with the violence and political repression that occurred in the past.

Considering Kenya’s leadership, depending on how it unfolds, it could bring a positive global political status to Kenya and East Africa as a whole, since this is the first time that a country on the continent has led a peace mission in another territory and this is a paradigm shift.

On the other hand, the failure and problems of previous missions could cause this new project to be viewed negatively by social movements and even by the Haitian population, which previously suffered from violence and abuse of power by UN troops. This could also cause internal tensions in Kenya, since part of the population protests against the mission.

Furthermore, a new failed mission – in addition to being bad for the Haitian population – could increase the negative view of Kenya and the African continent as a whole by other countries.

In the past, it was common to come across peacekeeping missions in African countries. Now, an African country is leading a mission. This shows how, over the years, the continent has been developing and opening doors, changing how it is seen by the rest of the world.