UN Confirms Four Sexual Abuse Cases by Kenya Mission in Haiti

A United Nations report has confirmed four cases of sexual exploitation and abuse by members of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti, including one involving a 12-year-old girl, as the force prepares to withdraw from the country.

The allegations, reported last year, involved female victims aged 12, 16, 16, and 18. The United Nations received the complaints and referred them to the mission's commander for investigation. All four were substantiated following probes by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to the report on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, dated February 16. The document lists the cases under the category of non-United Nations forces, as the mission is a police-led initiative primarily composed of Kenyan officers. Authorized by the UN Security Council in 2023, it deployed its first personnel to Haiti in June 2024 to combat gang violence but is now in the process of pulling out.

Details on the specific incidents remain limited in the report's one-page summary. It notes that violations were corroborated in each case, with action pending in three. For the incident...