A U.N. human-rights report says members of the Kenya-led security mission in Haiti were implicated in multiple rapes, including victims as young as 12, in cases investigators described as substantiated. The findings raise urgent questions about how closely foreign security personnel are monitored as they battle gangs in a country already reeling from mass displacement, killings and rising sexual violence.
According to Reuters, U.N. investigations into four allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse last year were "found to be substantiated." The report was dated Feb. 16 and was first reported by Haitian outlet Ayibo Post, and Reuters noted that the U.N. document did not spell out what ultimately happened in those cases.
As reported by the Miami Herald, the victims included people aged 12, 16, 16 and 18, and one allegation involving the 12-year-old was investigated internally by the mission itself. The Herald said the U.N. found all four allegations corroborated and that, in three of the cases at least, action remains pending.
What the U.N. Said
The U.N. human-rights office said investigators from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights carried out the inquiries and concluded the allegations were substantiated, but the published summary stopped short of naming individuals or listing disciplinary steps. Reuters reported that the Feb. 16 document is likely to fuel fresh scrutiny of how the multinational force is supervised by both contributing countries and U.N. bodies.
How the Kenya-Led Force Arrived
The Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission was authorized by the U.N. Security Council in 2023 and began sending personnel to Haiti in mid-2024 as part of an effort to help the Haitian National Police reclaim territory from armed gangs. The Associated Press has reported on the mission’s limited size and funding gaps, which critics say complicate command, oversight and accountability on the ground.
Context: Past Abuses and Accountability Gaps
Human Rights Watch and other rights monitors say sexual violence in Haiti has surged as gangs use rape to terrorize communities, and international interventions have in the past been tainted by allegations of abuse. In that context, the new U.N. findings are landing in a country where trust in outside forces is already thin and where any sign of impunity risks deepening the damage.
Responses and Next Steps
The Miami Herald reports that the mission’s force commander, Godfrey Otunge, and spokesman Jack Mbaka did not respond to requests for comment, and that U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the U.N. has flagged the matter for follow-up with the force and its special representative, Jack Christofides. The U.N. report, according to the Herald, left most cases with a "pending" action status, and it remains unclear whether any criminal investigations by contributing countries or Haitian authorities have been opened.
For survivors in Haiti, where displacement, hunger and violence intersect, the report is a stark reminder that protecting civilians also means policing those sent to protect them. International partners and the U.N. bear responsibility for ensuring that these investigations lead to concrete accountability and real support for victims.
