The United Nations Security Council will vote later in the day on the creation of an international police support force in Haiti, where gang violence has become a scourge in recent years, according to its agenda made public on Sunday.

For a year now, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henri and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have called for an international force to be deployed to help the police, as the force is unable to deal with the violence, which continues to worsen.

But the international community, scarred by painful experiences of the past and wary of the danger of being trapped in a death trap, has struggled to find the country that would take responsibility to lead the international force, which will not act under the flag of the United Nations.

In late July, Kenya finally announced it was ready to lead the mission and deploy 1,000 police officers to the impoverished Caribbean nation.

And the US, which means to offer logistical support but a priori not to deploy either police or military in the field, announced at the end of September that other countries have pledged to contribute to this “multinational mission” in order to restore security.

Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda have announced they will participate.

After weeks of brewing over the mission’s mandate, Security Council member states will vote this afternoon (New York time) on a draft resolution intended to give the go-ahead. Compiled by Washington.

During the UN General Assembly ten days ago, the Haitian Prime Minister once again pleaded with the international community to act “urgently” to help his fellow citizens.

According to a report signed by Mr. Guterres and released this week, the multidimensional crisis Haiti is experiencing has worsened over the past year.

Gang violence, which has tightened its grip and expanded its control in the capital and beyond, has become “even more blatant and more barbaric,” the Secretary-General said, referring to the use of rape to instill terror, the development of free snipers on rooftops, people being burned alive, as well as the appearance in the spring of a group of citizens who judge themselves.

In total, from October 2022 to June 2023, some 2,800 murders were recorded in the country, including 80 minors, according to the text.

The violence is fueled by the arms trade, which comes mainly from the US.

China – a country that has veto power in the SA – has expressed skepticism in recent months about sending an international force and insists that the greater need is to control the arms trade, which is growing, especially from Florida.

Generally, SA decisions need to receive at least nine votes and not be vetoed by any of its five permanent member states (US, Russia, China, France and Britain) to be approved.