Bangladesh, Oct. 29 -- A new United Nations force has arrived in Haiti with the daunting mission of “neutralizing” the countrys violent criminal gangs – a challenge that has already defeated several international interventions before it. Despite the optimism surrounding the new Gang Suppression Force (GSF), analysts and rights advocates warn that unless it addresses deep structural problems that previous missions ignored, it risks becoming just another well-intentioned failure in a country trapped in a spiral of violence and despair.

For more than two years, Haiti has been gripped by chaos. Armed gangs now control as much as 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and are expanding their reach into rural areas. Their...