The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday voted to authorize a significantly larger multinational force to help curb the worsening gang violence in .
The adopted resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Panama, will transform the , into a “Gang Suppression Force” (GSF).
There are currently 1,000 police officers, mostly from Kenya, deployed to support the overwhelmed Haitian police force.
The new force can now have a maximum of 5,500 uniformed personnel, which will include both police officers and soldiers.
At the UNSC, there were 12 votes in favor and three abstentions from China, Russia and Pakistan.
Support for resolution welcomed
Support for the vote was warmly welcomed by Laurent Saint-Cyr, leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council who cheered the vote.
“This vote marks a decisive turning point in the fight against armed criminal groups that are causing grief for our families, paralyzing our economy and threatening the future of our nation,” he said.
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the transformation of “the Multinational Security Support mission to the new gang suppression force, a mission five-times the size of its predecessor” showed the “international community was sharing the burden.”
“This resolution offers Haiti hope. It is a hope that has been rapidly slipping away as terrorist gangs expanded their territory, raped, pillaged, murdered and terrorized the Haitian population,” he said.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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