US changes tack on Haiti peacekeeping push amid China, Russia opposition

30/9/2024 12:58

        The United States has dropped a push for the U.N. Security Council to ask for a plan to transform a security mission helping fight armed gangs in Haiti into a formal U.N. peacekeeping operation, a move some diplomats said was made to appease Russia and China.
        
        A senior U.S. administration official, however, pushed back against that assessment, saying Washington changed its strategy to support a call last week by the head of Haiti's transition council, Edgard Leblanc, for a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
        
        "It is not at all that we are bowing to those who might not have the best interests of the Haitian people at heart," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are being strategic about how we're going about this and building on the shot of momentum that we heard from the Haitian president."
        
        The 15-member Security Council will vote on Monday on a draft resolution to extend the mandate for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission until Oct. 2, 2025. The U.N. first approved the mission a year ago after the Caribbean country asked for assistance.