The United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) was originally established by Security Council resolution 867 of 23 September 1993 to help implement certain provisions of the Governors Island Agreement signed by the Haitian parties on 3 July 1993. In 1993, its mandate was to assist in modernizing the armed forces of Haiti and establishing a new police force. UNMIH was not able implement the mandate at that time due to the noncooperation of the Haitian military authorities. Later, the Security Council, by its resolution 940 of 31 July 1994, approved the establishment of an advance team of UNMIH to institute the appropriate means of coordination with the multinational force, to carry out the monitoring of the operations of the force, to assess requirements and to prepare for the deployment of UNMIH upon completion of the mission of the multinational force. The Mission terminated in June 1996.
The Security Council, by its resolution 1063 of 28 June 1996, established the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH), which underlined the need to support the commitment of the Government of Haiti to maintain the secure and stable environment established by the Multinational Force. The Mission terminated on 31 July 1997.
The Security Council, by its resolution 1123 of July 1997, established UNTMIH for a four month period to assist the Government of Haiti in the professionalization of the National Police Force. It was tasked to assist the Government of Haiti by supporting and contributing to the professionalization of the Haitian National Police (HNP). The Mission terminated on 30 November 1997.
The Security Council, by its resolution 1141 of 28 November 1997, established the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (MIPONUH) with the mandate to continue work to support the Haitian National Police. The Mission terminated in March 2000.
MIPONUH was succeeded by the International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti (MICAH) on 16 March 2000, established by the UN General Assembly in its resolution A/54/193 of 17 December 1999. MICAH was mandated to consolidate the results achieved by MIPONUH and its predecessor missions. MICAH was tasked with further promoting human rights and reinforcing the institutional effectiveness of the Haitian police and the judiciary, and with coordinating and facilitating the international community's dialogue with political and social actors in Haiti. The color combination for the ribbon for the medal and bars consists of the royal blue and red of the Republic of Haiti, bordered by the UN blue with two white lines denoting friendship between the two.
The following countries contributed personnel to all of the above-mentioned missions during various periods of time: Algeria, Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Canada, Djibouti, France, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Jordan, India, Jamaica, Mali, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Santa Lucia, Surinam, Senegal, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and United States.