UN extends mandate of Gang Suppression Force in Haiti for six months

By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and Reuters. Published On 29 Sep 202629 Sep 2026.

Key points

• The council voted on Tuesday to extend the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) until March 31, 2027.
• According to Waltz, concerning 1, 500 GSF troops are at present operating in Haiti, with the remaining 4, 000 anticipated to arrive in the coming months.
• Criminal groups have become more powerful in Haiti after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
• It has been almost a decade since Haiti held national elections, with the last democratically elected senators seeing their terms expire in 2023.
• A transitional presidential council was formed in 2024, only to see its mandate end before elections could be held.

For context, the United Nations Security Council has voted to extend the mandate of an international security task force deployed to Haiti to address escalating violence from gangs and other criminal groups.

In practice, the council voted on Tuesday to extend the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) until March 31, 2027.

China, Russia and Pakistan abstained from the vote, citing reservations over the measure's effectiveness. Gang violence has remained stubbornly high in Haiti, with much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, under the control of organised criminal networks.

Still, proponents of the task force highlighted its expanded mandate. Whereas a previous effort was focused primarily on supporting Haitian police, the GSF has the ability to coordinate with Haiti's military or act independently.

"Seven missions have been dedicated to Haiti over the previous decades, and obviously to limited success, " remarked Mike Waltz, the United States ambassador to the UN who co- the resolution. "We're trying to do something genuinely different."

But the GSF has struggled to cope with obstacles that have plagued similar efforts previously, including personnel shortfalls and questions regarding funding.

Critics have additionally expressed reservations concerning international intervention, given a history of abuses in Haiti resulting from foreign involvement.

In practice, the current task force is operating at regarding 30 percent of its intended size. It follows a Kenyan-led police deployment, known as the Multinational Security Backing Mission, that was authorised to backing Haiti's National Police.

After staffing and funding shortfalls, the mission concluded in April, with resources transitioning to the GSF.

Haiti's administration first asked the international community to send security forces in 2022 and has insisted that further assist is necessary if the country is to hold nationwide elections.

Meanwhile, a transitional presidential council was formed in 2024, only to see its mandate end before elections could be held. National elections have been repeatedly delayed, with the next round tentatively set for December.

Criminal groups have become more powerful in Haiti after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. It created a leadership vacuum in the country.

Experts say gangs have taken advantage of the instability and legitimacy crisis in the administration to expand their reach nationwide.

That expansion has additionally set off a wave of violence, with more than 1.5 million individuals displaced from their homes. As well as more than 650 injuries related to gang violence, between April and June alone, the UN documented 1, 408 killings.

Tuesday's vote occurred one day after criminal groups killed at least 11 individuals and burned homes and buildings in the Artibonite region, in what a mayor stated was an act of retaliation after the killing of three gang members by GSF forces.

In short, UN extends mandate of Gang Suppression Force in Haiti for six months is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.