United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (French: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that was in operation from 2004 to 2017. The mission's military component was led by the Brazilian Army and commanded by a Brazilian. The force was composed of 2,366 military personnel and 2,533 police, supported by international civilian personnel, a local civilian staff and United Nations Volunteers.
| Abbreviation | MINUSTAH (French: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti) |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1 June 2004 |
| Dissolved | 13 April 2017 |
| Type | Peacekeeping mission |
| Legal status | Replaced by MINUJUSTH |
Head | Sandra Honoré (Special Representative of the Secretary-General) |
Parent organization | UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations Security Council |
| Website | UN Peacekeeping: MINUSTAH, www.minustah.org (in French) |
The 2010 Haiti earthquake caused the collapse of the mission's headquarters in Port-au-Prince and killed the mission's chief, Hédi Annabi of Tunisia, his deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa of Brazil, and the acting police commissioner, RCMP Supt. Doug Coates of Canada. On 14 January 2010, UN headquarters dispatched the former head of MINUSTAH and current Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Edmond Mulet, as the organisation's Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General and interim head of MINUSTAH. Following the earthquake, MINUSTAH concentrated on assisting the Haitian National Police in providing security within the country, while American and Canadian military forces distributed humanitarian aid and provided security for aid distribution.
Due to fears of instability, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1944 extended MINUSTAH's mandate, and it was periodically renewed until 2017.
On 13 April 2017, the United Nations Security Council announced that the mission would end in October 2017. It was replaced by a much smaller follow-up mission, the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), which itself concluded in 2019.