[New York = Yusuke Hirata]On September 30th, the United Nations Security Council announced that the term of office for a multinational force to be dispatched by member states to Haiti will end on October 2nd, with the aim of stabilizing Haiti, an island nation in the Caribbean where gang crime is rampant due to political instability. All 15 members voted in favor of a resolution to extend the meeting for one year from 2017.

With gangs controlling much of the capital Port-au-Prince, the multinational force (410 people) is led by Kenya, which is sending 400 police officers. The total number of troops is expected to increase to approximately 2,500 in the future.

Prior to the resolution, Chair of the Haitian Transitional Presidential Council Edgar Blanc, in his General Assembly General Debate Address on September 26, appealed for increased funding for the military and called for a “conversion to peacekeeping operations (PKO),” but the Security Council It was postponed after preliminary discussions.

During peacekeeping missions from 2004 to 2017, personnel committed sexual assaults and troops poured sewage into rivers, leading to an outbreak of cholera.

After the resolution was adopted on the 30th, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Greenfield stated that the extension of the term of office must be used as an opportunity to rebuild the image of the multinational force. On the 25th, the U.S. government announced $160 million (approximately 23 billion yen) in aid for the Haitian National Police.

After the assassination of then-President Moïse by an armed group in 2021, Haiti experienced a major earthquake and the security situation rapidly deteriorated. In February of this year, gangs took advantage of Prime Minister Henri’s visit to Kenya and attacked police stations, airports, prisons, and other facilities, leading to a riot in which about 4,000 prisoners escaped.