The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution extending its political mission in Haiti through January 2027 while issuing strong criticism of the country’s leadership for failing to advance political transition processes. The council’s decision comes as Haiti experiences unprecedented levels of gang violence that now dominates 90% of the capital city Port-au-Prince and continues spreading into rural areas.
In the strongly-worded resolution co-sponsored by the United States and Panama, Security Council members condemned in the strongest terms the dramatic surge in criminal activities, citing extensive human rights violations including systematic sexual violence against all demographics, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, child abductions, and targeted killings by armed groups. The violence has escalated significantly since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which created a power vacuum that criminal organizations have exploited.
The extended UN mission, known as BINUH, will now refocus its mandate toward facilitating national dialogue and supporting electoral processes for municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. Additionally, the mission will collaborate with the newly authorized international security force to develop comprehensive programs for disarming and reintegrating former gang members, with particular attention to children recruited by armed groups.
Haiti’s current transitional governance structure, established in April 2024 with Caribbean leadership support after gangs forced closure of the main international airport and critical infrastructure, has struggled to maintain stability. The council has overseen three different prime ministers despite its original mandate to dissolve by February 2025. Recent warnings from the United States against governmental changes highlight international concerns about the unelected body’s ability to transition toward democratic elections for the first time in ten years.
The resolution emphasizes urgent security sector reform requirements and calls for enhanced coordination between the political mission and the planned 5,500-member international security force authorized in September, which remains without a definitive deployment timeline despite being hailed as offering ‘hope’ for the crisis-stricken nation.