Story highlights
The U.N. Security Council is pulling out about 3,000 peacekeepers
They have been involved in scandals in Haiti
Haitians protested the U.N. presence after scandals
The United Nations Security Council has decided to reduce the number of soldiers and police serving as peacekeepers in Haiti.
It authorized 7,340 troops and 3,241 police, down from the 8,940 troops and 4,391 police approved a year ago.
A draft resolution said peacekeepers can be reduced given a more stable political situation after a new government was formed with the approval of Prime Minister Garry Conille last month.
Haitians have protested the U.N. presence after scandals involving peacekeepers.
A report linked Haiti’s deadly cholera outbreak to peacekeepers from Nepal, a conclusion that was initially resisted by at least some United Nations officials.
The report by a United Nations-appointed independent panel of experts said the cholera strain did not originate in Haiti. Instead, it was “very similar” to strains of cholera currently circulating in South Asia.
And the Uruguayan Ministry of Defense has opened an investigation into an alleged assault in Haiti involving at least five Uruguayan peacekeepers.
The Security Council established the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (known by its French acronym, MINUSTAH) in 2004. Peacekeepers played an integral role after the devastating 2010 earthquake and also in maintaining security during election unrest last year,