UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — The United Nations (UN) on Wednesday urged the international community to fund a new UN Support Office in Haiti, less than 24 hours after the Security Council adopted a resolution authorising the transition of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to a Gang Suppression Force (GSF).

It said that the new office in Port au Prince, to be known by its UNSOH, is meant to provide logistical and operational support to the GSF.

“Establishing a UN Support Office funded by peacekeeping-assessed contributions was initially recommended by the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, back in February, as you will recall,” said Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the secretary-general.

“We urge member states to support the Gang Suppression Force, including through scaled-up voluntary contributions and the provision of uniformed personnel. All of this to help overcome the challenges that have constrained the Multinational Security Support mission,” Dujarric told the daily UN briefing.

“In this regard, we welcome the establishment of a Standing Group of Partners for the Gang Suppression Force by member states to provide high-level strategic direction, oversight and relevant political decision-making for the new force. This was also among the secretary-general’s recommendations back in February.”

Dujarric said that the UN is calling on Haitian stakeholders to build on this momentum by accelerating efforts to complete the political transition, adding that the head of the political office in Haiti, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, continues to support Haitian actors on that path.

“The UN political mission in Haiti’s prevention and good offices work remains now more relevant than ever,” Dujarric said, updating reporters also on what he described as “the horrific situation regarding gender-based violence”.

He said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that these atrocities continue at alarming levels in Haiti.

According to the UN spokesman, between January and August of this year, “our humanitarian partners reported more than 6,450 incidents, nearly half of those cases being rape. One in seven of these survivors is a girl under 18”.

“According to our partners, armed groups were reportedly responsible for 75 per cent of the cases. Displaced people account for 70 per cent of the survivors,” Dujarric said, noting that only a quarter of rape survivors were able to access medical care within the critical 72-hour window, while another quarter received treatment only after more than one month.

“These delays are driven by insecurity, stigma, weak referral systems and the absence of health services in so many communities in Haiti,” he said, adding that the vast majority of incidents were concentrated in the West Department, with the capital, Port-au-Prince, alone accounting for more than 30 per cent of cases.

“We and our partners have been providing life-saving services, including medical and psychosocial support, legal assistance and temporary shelter. However, OCHA reports that access to services remains uneven, with most of these problems concentrated in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding communes.

“OCHA warns that chronic underfunding is compounding the crisis and leaving the vast majority of survivors without care. Less than 20 per cent of the US$19 million required this year for gender-based violence prevention and response in Haiti has been received so far,” Dujarric said.

He said urgent support is needed to extend services beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, and ensure that women and girls across the country can access protection and care.