UN Security Council approves Haiti mission


The UN Security Council (UNSC) has approved an initial year-long security mission to Haiti to aid with the country’s entrenched gang problem. Ariel Henry, the acting prime minister who’s been calling for foreign support since last year, thanked the UNSC, adding “we couldn’t wait any longer”.

Calling the security situation in Haiti ‘dire’ is an understatement:

So this multinational and UN-authorised mission, to be led by Kenya, aims to secure key infrastructure while supporting local police in “targeted operations”.

Why’d it take so long? Partly because the two previous UN peacekeeping missions to Haiti led to a cholera outbreak and widespread abuse.

Intrigue’s take: So there are real questions around whether Haiti is ready for another foreign intervention; and whether Kenya is best placed to lead it.

But it’s notable that the UN Security Council has managed to push past its record of gridlock and agree on an option at all. And that’ll count as a success for those who see doing nothing as the worst option of all.

Also worth noting:

  • The UNSC motion passed with 13 votes out of 15.
  • The two abstentions came from Russia and China: Russia said an armed intervention was an extreme measure that needed to be thought through, while China said that without a functional government in place, external support wouldn’t be effective.
Latest Author Articles
IS AUKUS dead?

The historic AUKUS (Aus, UK, US) defence tech pact is in the news again, with Aussie outlets flagging the Trump administration might revise the deal, years after the ink dried.  Revealed via a shock 2021 announcement, the trilateral deal pledges varying defence tech cooperation, but the kicker was to help Australia get nuclear-powered (not armed) […]

11 July, 2025
Another coup in Thailand?

You’re chatting away on the phone after a crappy few weeks at work: yep, Jenny from accounts is at it again, and don’t even get us started on Barry from marketing. So you vent, throw a little shade, maybe sprinkle in some spice — it’s a private call. You do you, right? Wrong.  Thailand’s prime […]

2 July, 2025
Why the world is having fewer babies

Why are a bunch of ex-diplomats talking about babies and birth rates? Sure, it’s like a mango sorbet palate-cleanser amid all the war and rumours of war. But natality is also one of those slow-moving forces that can completely transform our world. How? Last century, the dominant narrative was that populations were too big, with leaders in China, Vietnam […]

11 June, 2025
Xi and Trump talk for the first time

Sometimes, the shortest press releases generate the most headlines.   Take Thursday’s press release from China’s state broadcaster: “Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday held phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the latter’s request.”  As you’d expect, given the feverish geopolitical climate of today, those 18 words were enough to trigger a visceral reaction in any US-China […]

6 June, 2025