Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Alexander Repkin following the Vote on a Draft Resolution to Extend the Mandate of the Gang Suppression Force in Haiti
Mr. President,
Russia abstained during the vote on the US-Panama draft Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti.
A year ago, we did not block the establishment of the mission. We did so, first and foremost, at the request of the countries in the region and the Haitian authorities themselves. At the same time, we had quite a few questions about the GSF model itself, as well as about the mechanisms for its funding and staffing. Twelve months later, we cannot say that these concerns have been fully addressed.
Indeed, the mission has been established and has started its deployment, and we cannot but acknowledge the active efforts of both its initiators, including the Core Group, and the United Nations Secretariat, which has implemented the Security Council’s decisions regarding the deployment of the UN Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH) almost impeccably.
Having said that, the implementation of this initiative has faced almost all issues we had anticipated, including difficulties in finding and training the necessary personnel, the lack of sustainable funding, and the unclear legal status of the newly established mission. As a result, the deployment of units has been delayed, which, in turn, postpones the country’s preparations for the long-awaited general elections, with criminal gangs raging on the streets of Port-au-Prince and other cities.
What raises even more questions is the parameters for the use of force by the GSF as its mandate is very vague, and we did not have the opportunity to revise it given that its extension was purely technical. The contingents deployed to participate in the GSF are trained to carry out conventional peacekeeping tasks. But in reality, in Haiti, they will have to face street clashes with Haitian gangs, which are unscrupulous enemies and do not abide by the rules of conventional warfare. Until then, it is difficult for the Council to assess the contingents’ effectiveness and contribution to ensuring security in the country.
Regardless of how the situation with the GSF unfolds, it is clear that even the most intense use of force will neither resolve the problem nor enable Haiti to find a way out of the current profound crisis. Only through strengthening statehood and its own capacity to maintain law and order will the country be able to get back on a constitutional track and secure progressive socioeconomic development. It is for the international community – or rather, its specific members – to stop the flow of weapons and money to Haitian criminal groups from external actors and to refrain from interfering in the country’s internal political processes, including those related to the current electoral process.
Thank you.
