Dominican Republic urges stronger Haiti gang force

The Dominican Republic called Thursday for the UN-backed force fighting gangs in Haiti to be strengthened, warning that limited progress in protecting Haitians could be at risk.

Dominican Foreign Minister Ito Bisono told ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the Gang Suppression Force did not have enough contingents to meet its mandate.

“There has been some advances in security, but it's still frail,” Bisono said. He said that on July 8 the force's military component had passed 1,083 people, compared with an authorization of 5,550.

The force had been expected to build up between April and October to a planned capacity of 5,500 uniformed personnel and 50 civilian staff. Its spokesperson, Igor Rugwiza, has said that goal could not be achieved in such a short time because of logistical constraints.

Haiti has been hit by deadly gang violence in recent years, with heavily armed criminal groups controlling parts of the country. It is preparing to hold its first presidential and legislative election since 2016, along with a constitutional referendum, on December 13.

The Gang Suppression Force replaced the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission, which was seen as under-equipped and under-funded. It was intended to be more robust, but as of July had fewer than 1,000 personnel from Chad, Mongolia, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Sri Lanka.

US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz praised the new force after recently visiting Haiti, saying it was helping secure critical infrastructure. He also called for countries to follow through on their pledges.

Waltz said negotiations to extend the force's mandate were underway at the UN Security Council.