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Tag: Security Council

  • ‘Transition clock is ticking,’ UN warns Haiti’s leaders as elections appear unlikely

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    Carlos Ruiz Massieu, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Haiti and head of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, briefs the Security Council on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 on the question concerning Haiti and the U.N. political office.

    Carlos Ruiz Massieu, special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Haiti and head of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, briefs the Security Council on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 on the question concerning Haiti and the U.N. political office.


    Eskinder Debebe

    UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

    With three months remaining in Haiti’s rocky political transition, United Nations Security Council members are calling on the country’s leaders and politicians to quickly set aside their differences and avoid a political vacuum.

    The urgent call comes amid the pending end of the current governance arrangement that expires on Feb. 7, 2026— a date by which a newly elected president and Parliament were originally expected to take office but mostly likely will not. In addition to being hampered by a complex and deadly security landscape, Haiti’s ruling transition has also been dogged by corruption allegations, which have undermined its efforts to return the country to constitutional order. Haiti’s last general election was in 2016, and since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the Caribbean nation has not had one elected leader in office.

    “Critical decisions will be required by national authorities and stakeholders in the weeks to come,” Christina Markus Lassen, the Permanent Representative of Denmark, said. “Sustained inter-Haitian dialogue remains crucial.”

    In his latest report to the Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres noted that many Haitian political actors have expressed concern about the risk of a political vacuum if elections are not held on time.

    United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.
    United Nations Secretary General António Guterres. Evan Schneider UN Photo/Evan Schneider

    The key people in Haiti hold diverging views on whether to maintain or modify the current transitional governance arrangement, Guterres said. Among the suggestions being discussed in Port-au-Prince: replacing the current nine-member Transitional Presidential Council with a judge from the country’s highest court as transitional president and a prime minister chosen through consultations; amending the arrangement to only three individuals and an oversight body to monitor government action, or extending the current group.

    Several political figures, including a group of former prime ministers, proposed a one-year extension, starting on Feb. 7, 2026, under a new political accord, leading to elections by October 2026, the report said.

    Guterres’s report is part of the regular update he is required to give the Security Council, which after supporting the extension of global sanctions for Haiti and issuing a new 12-month mandate for a Gang Suppression Force is also deciding on the renewal of the mandate of the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti. The renewal of the political office received wide support from the council.

    The United Kingdom’s deputy representative, highlighting the recent support for the U.S.-backed suppression force and continued sanctions, said it’s time for Haiti’s transitional presidential council “to step up and match the international community’s efforts.

    “The Haitian authorities must work at pace to lay the necessary legislation to enable free and fair elections,” Ambassador Archibald Young said. “We call on all Haitian political actors to put their differences aside and work together in good faith to improve governance in Haiti, particularly ahead of the seventh of February.”

    Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Guterres’ new special representative in Haiti, told Security Council members that “the transition clock is ticking” and Haiti could not afford a political vacuum, especially amid its ongoing gang-driven violence.

    “I am concerned that a steady path towards the restoration of democratic governance is yet to emerge,” he said. “However, I welcome the steps taken by national authorities to consult with political stakeholders to reach agreements on the necessary conditions under which elections should be held and to avoid a political vacuum beyond 7 February 2026.”

    Since arriving in Port-au-Prince on Aug. 2, Ruiz Massieu said he has visited national authorities, civil society leaders, human rights advocates, political parties and Haiti’s international supporters.

    “I have been able to witness firsthand the brutal reality of everyday life in the country, especially in Port-au-Prince,” he said. “There is no doubt that the circumstances are dire, but the Haitian people have not given up.”

    Still, the scale and impact of the crisis is disturbing: More than 1.4 million people have been forced to leave their homes, while human rights abuses by gangs continue, Ruiz Massieu said as he highlighted the grim reality the secretary-general provided in his report.

    Between July and August, gangs increasingly targeted farming communities on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince and in other areas of the country, and staged multiple attacks against the national police. In the West region, a gang assault on the village of Labodrie in Cabaret resulted in more than more than 40 deaths, including six children. In the Artibonite, attacks during the same period left 42 residents dead and 29 injured, with two police stations set on fire.

    Though gang violence has slowed down in the capital, farmers in Kenscoff, located in the hills, continue to be targeted, while killings have risen dramatically in the Artibonite and Center regions, the report said. The U.N. recorded 1,303 victims of homicides between January and August, compared with 419 during the same period in 2024.

    Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said while the United States will do its part to support Haiti, the countrys political class and private sector “must do their parts as well in support of a democratically elected government.”

    Waltz said Washington will remain relentless in pursuing individuals who undermine Haitian security and arm and finance terrorist gangs. This includes expanding its use “of all available tools, using all means necessary, including indictments, arrests, financial sanctions, arms seizures, visa and other immigration restrictions, to counter the impunity that robs Haitian children of their futures.”

    A number of U.N. diplomats, including the representatives of Panama and Russia, expressed concerns about civilian casualties resulting from security operations in Haiti. The issue was raised by Guterres and tied it to the Haitian government’s use of armed drones through a contract with the firm Vectus Global to fight gangs. Vectus Global is owned by former Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

    In August, two police officers were killed and six others injured when a government drone accidentally exploded. In September at least 21 people were killed, including a pregnant woman, a boy and three girls, Guterres’ report said. Another 41 others, including 7 children, were injured.

    “We are extremely concerned about the recent increase in activity in Haiti of foreign mercenaries operating outside the legal framework,” Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, who presided over the meeting, said. He added that the uncontrolled use of drones, “which has already resulted in several confirmed civilian casualties, is completely unacceptable, and we hope that this problem is not going to migrate into the new mission.”

    Ruiz Massieu told the Security Council that despite the hostile environment the U.N. finds itself working in in Haiti, he is “leading efforts to swiftly complete the return of all its international personnel to Port-au-Prince, with the goal of achieving 100% staff presence in the capital as a matter of urgency at this critical stage of the political transition.”

    Haiti’s ambassador to the U.N., Ericq Pierre, said that building peace requires the implementation of a national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration policy that is focused both on the removal of illegal arms and on the reintegration of young people.

    “In this regard, the government invites [the U.N. Integrated Office] to strengthen its technical and institutional support for this policy, which is essential in order to bring about lasting security that is rooted in reconciliation, social cohesion and respect for human rights,” he said.

    Pierre took note of the Secretary General’s report and said “the restoration of security” is the government’s top priority.

    “The report does, however, indicate that the government is making great efforts to overcome these many challenges,” he said. “Despite a worrying security context and difficult socio-economic circumstances, the Haitian authorities are stepping up their actions to re-establish the state, to consolidate the Republic’s institutions and to create the conditions for a return to constitutional order.”

    Jacqueline Charles

    Miami Herald

    Jacqueline Charles has reported on Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean for the Miami Herald for over a decade. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she was awarded a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize — the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas.

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    Jacqueline Charles

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  • 25 years after landmark UN resolution, UN chief says women are too often absent from peace talks

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    UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Twenty-five years after a landmark U.N. resolution demanded equal participation for women in all efforts to promote peace, the United Nations chief said Tuesday that far too often women remain absent.

    At the same time, sexual violence against women and girls is on the rise and 676 million women live within 50 kilometers (30 miles) of deadly conflicts, which the head of the U.N. women’s agency says is the highest number since the 1990s.

    “Around the globe, we see troubling trends in military spending, more armed conflicts, and more shocking brutality against women and girls,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a U.N. Security Council meeting marking the anniversary.

    Since the resolution’s adoption on Oct. 31, 2000, there has been some progress, he said. The number of women in uniform as U.N. peacekeepers has doubled, women have led local mediation, advanced justice for survivors of gender-based violence, and women’s organizations have been instrumental in promoting recovery from conflicts and reconciliation.

    “But gains are fragile and – very worryingly – going in reverse,” Guterres said.

    In no-nonsense language, Guterres said too often nations gather in rooms like the Security Council chamber “full of conviction and commitment,” but fall far short of the resolution’s demand for equal participation of women in peace negotiations — and protection of women and girls from rape and sexual abuse in conflicts.

    Despite the horrors of war, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous also pointed to some progress. She said women have reduced community violence in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan and in the Central African Republic.

    In Haiti, women have achieved near parity in the new provisional electoral council, and women’s representation in Chad’s National Assembly has doubled, she said. Syria’s interim constitution guarantees rights and protections for women, and in war-torn Ukraine women have succeeded in getting national relief efforts helping women codified into law.

    But Bahous also said it’s lamentable that the world today is witnessing “renewed pushback against gender equality and multilateralism.” She said the situation is being exacerbated by what she called short-sighted funding cuts.

    These cuts are undermining education opportunities for Afghan girls, curtailing life-saving medical care for tens of thousands of sexual violence survivors in Sudan, Haiti and beyond, and limiting access to food for malnourished women and children in Gaza, Mali, Somalia and elsewhere, Bahous said.

    She stressed that change is possible.

    “It is understandable that some might conclude that the rise and normalization of misogyny currently poisoning our politics and fueling conflict is unstoppable,” Bahous said. “It is not. Those who oppose equality do not own the future, we do.”

    Guterres urged the U.N.’s 193 member nations to increase their commitment to women caught in conflict with new funding and by ensuring their participation in peace negotiations, accountability for sexual violence and their protection and economic security.

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  • Iran expert tells TML international community no longer hostage to talks with Tehran

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    Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during an interview in Tehran, Iran, August 28, 2025. (photo credit: IRAN

    Snapback sanctions could collapse the Iranian economy as the Islamic Republic scrambles to rebuild its nuclear facilities

    The European “E3” (United Kingdom, France, and Germany) initiated a 30-day countdown clock when they triggered the United Nations (UN) snapback on August 28—a step that would automatically reimpose the full suite of Security Council sanctions unless a last-minute accommodation is reached by September 27–28. From the UN rostrum this week, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, “Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb.”

    European leaders said only verifiable steps—restoring inspector access and addressing enrichment and monitoring gaps—can avert reimposition.

    If the clock runs out, arms and missile restrictions and nuclear-related bans would return, complicating trade and diplomacy amid inflation and fiscal strain in Iran. UK and UN process briefs outline the August 28 notification and the 30-day window under the dispute-resolution process linked to the nuclear deal. Absent Security Council action that satisfies all veto holders, the pre-deal measures come back into force, and partners are expected to reapply the suspended sanctions.

    International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) figures made public in September show Iran held approximately 440.9 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium as of June 13, keeping pressure high for restored monitoring and transparency.

    While 60% is below weapons-grade, it materially shortens timelines and heightens concerns about access for inspectors. Separately, open-source imagery indicates Tehran is rebuilding missile-production sites damaged in June’s 12-day Iran–Israel war, though analysts note a bottleneck: the apparent absence of large planetary mixers needed for solid-fuel production—equipment whose absence could slow a full return of capacity even as other lines recover.

    Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), speaks at the opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, September 15, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/LISA LEUTNER)

    Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), speaks at the opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, September 15, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/LISA LEUTNER)

    On September 24, a Houthi drone struck Eilat, injuring about 20 people; Israel hit targets in Sanaa in response. The exchange shows how Gaza-linked tensions stretch from the Red Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean and how peripheral fronts can spike precisely as the snapback clock runs down.

    Mohammad Alzghool, senior researcher and head of the Iranian Studies Unit at the Emirates Policy Center in Abu Dhabi, said, “The most likely scenario is that the European parties will move ahead with the snapback mechanism.” He argued that such a move would mean “the collapse of the nuclear deal as the overarching framework” and could “open the political landscape to escalation scenarios.”

    He added a warning on the economy, stating, “The impact goes far beyond psychology—it risks pushing the economy toward collapse.” Alzghool said plausible cases include oil exports falling to about 700,000 barrels per day, worsening the fiscal deficit and weighing on growth, even if Tehran keeps some crude moving via discounting or gray-market channels.

    Looking to diplomacy, Alzghool said, “The nuclear issue is no longer forcing the international community into immediate talks with Tehran.” He also predicted, “Rather than negotiating on the basis of an established framework, the international community may push Iran into comprehensive talks from scratch, without legal reference points.”

    In his view, the dynamics since June reduced Iran’s leverage and increased the likelihood that any future process would demand deeper transparency on stockpiles and missiles.

    From the UN General Assembly this week, Pezeshkian tied Iran’s posture to Gaza while reiterating that Tehran does not seek nuclear weapons. European capitals countered that verifiable steps—restored inspector access, clarity on stockpiles, and credible de-escalation—are the only way to halt snapback in the closing hours of the 30-day window.

    Daniele Garofalo, an expert on terrorism and armed Islamist insurgent groups in the Middle East, said European debates often miscast the Houthis, noting, “They are not Yemen and not the internationally recognized government.” He added that the movement has leveraged the Palestinian cause to frame itself as a national defender while continuing to benefit from Iranian support, even as some of Tehran’s other partners have lost capacity. “It’s absurd that in 2025 I still have to explain that Yemen—the Yemeni government and the Yemeni army—is someone else,” he said.

    On staying power, Garofalo pointed to a durable force structure—military, political, organizational, and governmental—that leaves the group, “In short, … not an actor that can be easily removed right now.” He said popular support in Shiite areas persists, and he described how identity politics and wartime mobilization sustain the movement even when battlefield costs rise.

    Iranian financing network

    Garofalo also described work-arounds that offset reduced direct Iranian financing, saying, “Even if direct Iranian financing has been interrupted—because of obvious difficulties—the Houthis have found alternative ways over the past year to sustain their military logistics.” He cited intelligence reporting of “collaboration with al-Shabab, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and Somali piracy” in exchanges that sustain logistics, despite public denials. “AQAP denies this, but it is evident the two groups have avoided attacking each other for several years,” he said, adding, “They steer clear of clashes also because, as a reminder, al-Qaida’s leader Saif al-Adel is still in Iran.”

    On proposed partition scenarios, he cautioned that plans often ignore the Southern Transitional Council (STC), United Arab Emirates patronage, and AQAP’s persistence, saying, “Removing them would require substantial military commitment, which no one appears willing to make right now.” He warned that installing a northern authority could “install an enemy government closely aligned with Iran” and “solve one problem and create another.” “Second, are we sure the STC, funded as we know by the Emirates, would accept this?” he asked, noting that over the past year and a half, the STC cooperated with the internationally recognized government against al-Qaida and the Houthis while repeatedly voicing political, military, and economic discomfort under that arrangement.

    If snapback proceeds, Alzghool outlined diverging paths. He said, “Turning east toward China and Russia appears increasingly attractive for Iran,” including interest in Eastern weapons systems, and hard-liners could push to accelerate a pursuit of nuclear weapons—a course some argue would restore deterrence with even a small arsenal.

    He also offered a contrasting path: “On the other hand, Iran could still pivot toward regional and international integration,” which would require scaling back sensitive nuclear activities, reducing militia networks, and tapping the growing influence of moderates in government and in the Supreme National Security Council.

    Over the next news cycle, the UN track will determine whether sanctions snap back and pressure intensifies—or whether a narrow diplomatic lane remains. Either way, Tehran’s near-term calculus rests on three facts: a sizable 60%-enriched uranium stockpile with inspector-access demands, a missile program rebuilding under constraints, and continued Houthi operations that keep the region on edge.

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