UNITED NATIONS -- The Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to end the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti in mid-October after 13 years.
The peacekeepers aided the country after political upheaval in 2004 and a 2010 earthquake that killed at least 300,000 people -- including the head of the U.N. mission -- as well as Hurricane Matthew, which caused widespread devastation in October.
But they also leave under a cloud. U.N. troops from Nepal are widely blamed for introducing cholera that has killed at least 9,500 people in Haiti since 2010. And some troops also have been implicated in sexual abuse, including of hungry children.
The resolution approved by the U.N.'s most powerful body extends the mandate of the mission for a final six months during which the 2,370 military personnel will gradually leave.
It creates a follow-on peacekeeping mission for an initial period of six months comprising 1,275 police who will continue training the national police force. The new mission also will assist the government in strengthening judicial and legal institutions "and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting and analysis."
The United Kingdom's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycrof said the resolution sends a signal that once peacekeepers aren't needed, U.N. missions should close or transform to focus on other challenges.
"We are at the end of an important phase in Haiti," he said. "What we now need is a newly configured mission which is focused on rule of law and human rights."
The United Nations has been involved in Haiti on and off since 1990. A 2004 rebellion had the country on the brink of collapse, leading to deployment of the U.N. force.
The United States has begun a review of all 16 peacekeeping missions to assess costs and effectiveness, and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council that Haiti is "a success story when it comes to drawing down a peacekeeping mission."
With the new mission, she said, "the Haitian people will be set on the path of independence and self-sufficiency."
But Haley said after the vote that while the departure of the peacekeepers "is seen as a success, unfortunately it's a nightmare for many in Haiti who will never be able to forget and live with brutal scars."
At least 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers exploited nine Haitian children in a sex ring from 2004 to 2007, according to an internal U.N. report. It was part of a larger investigation by The Associated Press of U.N. missions during the past 12 years that found an estimated 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and U.N. personnel around the world.
"These peacekeepers are sent into vulnerable communities to protect the innocent, not to exploit or rape them," Haley said. "Countries that refuse to hold their soldiers accountable must recognize that this either stops or their troops will go home and their financial compensation will end."
She said the United States and the international community are committed to Haiti's "democratic development, independence and economic growth" and will also continue to push for accountability of U.N. peacekeeping missions accused of sexual abuse.
The Security Council resolution recognized the recent elections as a "major milestone towards stabilization." But it also said international support is needed to strengthen, professionalize and overhaul the police, promote economic development, and face the "significant humanitarian challenges" after Hurricane Matthew, which struck in October.
The new mission authorized Thursday by the council is also authorized "to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence."
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.
"The reason why we don't have a lot of trouble these days is because the U.N. people are still around. But once they take off, opportunities will open up for Haitians with guns to make things crazy again," said Gary Guerre, a 27-year-old bank clerk.
Some Haitians are anxious that the chronically dismal economy will get even worse.
"All I know is that having the U.N. people around helps Haiti's economy a little bit. They buy stuff and it makes the foreigners feel like there's order here," said Jivenson Arisme, a 24-year-old who set up a small roadside business selling kites and other items for the Easter holiday.
But many Haitian citizens have always seen the multinational peacekeepers as an occupying force and an affront to national sovereignty.
"They should have been out of here a long time ago. I don't see how they've been helping Haiti at all. I just see them drive by here like they are on a holiday," said Jean Wilnive, who sells live poultry from a perch near a bustling Port-au-Prince intersection.
Information for this article was contributed by David McFadden and Paisley Dodds of The Associated Press.
A Section on 04/14/2017