NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya deployed its first contingent of 200 officers to Port-au-Prince in June 2024, followed weeks later by a second group.
The Kenyan-led mission helped secure key infrastructure, including the General Hospital, the main seaport, Ganthier town, and roads linking the airport to the port.
However, the force quickly ran into obstacles. Local expectations were dampened by delays in equipment delivery, while the mission never achieved its projected 2,500 personnel.
By April, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council that the MSS had only reached 1,000 personnel from Kenya and partner nations including the Bahamas, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Jamaica.
Guterres warned that the MSS remained in its deployment phase, hampered by shortages of vehicles, spare parts, medical support, and communications systems.
“Shortages of spare parts have rendered 50 per cent of combat vehicles non-serviceable,” his April letter stated, citing risks to both effectiveness and personnel safety.
Funding and Future Plans
The proposed GSF would address these gaps by drawing salaries from voluntary UN contributions and relying on a UN Support Office in Haiti for logistical support.
A joint draft resolution by the US and Panama envisions the new force holding territory, securing infrastructure, and complementing the Haitian police.
“Any new international force must be resourced to hold ground, secure infrastructure, and backstop the Haitian National Police,” US Ambassador Dorothy Shea told the Security Council this week.
Haiti’s Growing Isolation
Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended its ban on commercial carriers flying to Port-au-Prince until March 7, 2026, citing ongoing threats from gangs.
The ban, which affects major airlines including JetBlue, Spirit, and American, was set to expire on September 8.
The restriction further isolates the Haitian capital, already cut off from direct commercial flights. Local authorities are scrambling to expand regional airports to maintain international access.
The transition from Kenya’s MSS mission to the proposed GSF comes as Haiti’s security crisis worsens, with gangs tightening their grip on Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, leaving tens of thousands displaced and humanitarian operations severely disrupted.
