UN-backed Haiti mission implicated in sex abuse cases

United Nations investigations have confirmed four allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in Haiti in 2025 against a UN-backed security force staffed mostly by Kenyan soldiers.

The Feb. 16 U.N. report on the investigations was first reported by Haiti’s AyiboPost on Thursday.

The report stated, without providing detailed information about the outcome of the cases, “It was determined that all allegations were confirmed in the investigations carried out by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.”

He said he forwarded the results to force leaders for “appropriate investigation and remedial measures.”

A spokesman for the force declined to comment.

UN human rights commission spokesperson Marta Hurtado Gomez told AyiboPost that it was up to the police and the countries involved to take further action on the cases because the operation, now called the Gang Suppression Force, was not an official UN mission.

The Haitian prime minister’s office said it could not immediately comment on the matter and the U.N. human rights commission did not respond to a request for comment.

The UN-backed force was initially led by Kenya, which provided the majority of around 1,000 troops and was first deployed in June 2024. It was restructured in September to create a larger, better-resourced and more aggressive force.

Jamaica, Belize, Bahamas, Guatemala and El Salvador also contributed smaller numbers of personnel.

An advance team from Chad arrived on Wednesday, pledging 800 soldiers.

There were widespread accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation, including allegations of child victims, against UN peacekeepers of the MINUSTAH mission in Haiti from 2004 to 2017.

Only a few peacekeepers have been tried by their home countries.