On April 13, the U.N. Security Council voted to end the peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
The scandal-struck United Nations peacekeeper mission in Haiti is to be wrapped up by mid-October, 2017.
United Nations peacekeepers were deployed to Haiti in 2004 when a rebellion led to the ouster and exile of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Acting on the recommendations of the Secretary-General, the Council also made a decision to establish a successor operation, the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), which would be mandated to assist the Haitian Government to strengthen rule of law institutions; further support and develop the National Police; and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting, and analysis. According to an internal United Nations report, between 2004 and 2007 at least 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers exploited nine Haitian children in a sex ring.
Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, mentioned the new sexual abuse allegations in her remarks to the United Nations on Thursday. After a United Nations report incriminated them, most were sent home, but none faced jail time. "Countries that refuse to hold their soldiers accountable must recognise that this either stops, or their troops will go home and their financial compensation will end", she said. In operation for 13 years, it has been accused of sexual abuse and blamed for dumping infected sewage into a river, causing a cholera outbreak.
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The UN said the new mission was also authorised to "protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, within its capabilities and areas of deployment, as needed".
The 15-member Security Council acknowledged the completion of Haiti's presidential election, along with the inauguration of its new president, as a "major milestone towards stabilization" in the Caribbean country.
The council's decision was met with conflicting emotions in Haiti, where many fear that dark days of instability will return after the foreign soldiers depart.
Some Haitians are anxious that the chronically dismal economy will get even worse. "They buy stuff and it makes the foreigners feel like there's order here", said Jivenson Arisme, a 24-year-old entrepreneur who set up a small roadside business selling kites and other items for the Easter holiday. Numbers indicate that in the years between 2004 and 2007, around 134 troopers have sexually abused and exploited 9 or more Haitian children.
"They should have been out of here a long time ago". She added that she was sexually abused for next three years by more than 50 peacekeepers and a commandant offered 75 cents to her. She cited the example of a sex ring allegedly run by Sri Lankan peacekeepers in Haiti - they reportedly lured hungry teenage boys and girls by offering them snacks and cookies.
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