The United Nations has called for more decisive measures to combat the spiraling gang violence in Haiti, which has crippled the country’s government and economy, leaving citizens in a state of fear and subjugation. The violence, characterized by killings, lootings, and brutal exploitation, has claimed more than 3,660 lives since January, according to a report released by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality,” said Volker Türk, the U.N.’s human rights chief, in a statement coinciding with the report’s publication on Friday. Türk welcomed recent steps, such as the creation of a new Transitional Presidential Council and government, as well as the deployment of the first units of the Multinational Security Support Mission, led by Kenyan police. However, he noted that the current personnel and equipment on the ground are insufficient to effectively counter the powerful criminal gangs wreaking havoc on the country.
The OHCHR report, covering the period up to June, outlines severe human rights abuses throughout Port-au-Prince, documenting at least 860 deaths and 393 injuries, including 36 children, during police operations that may have involved the use of disproportionate force.
The gangs, benefiting from Haiti’s political instability, have expanded their territorial control and criminal enterprises beyond the capital, establishing footholds in previously unaffected regions. This includes the Artibonite Department, a crucial agricultural zone, where escalating violence has forced farmers to abandon over 3,000 hectares of land, exacerbating the country’s food insecurity crisis. An estimated 1.6 million Haitians are currently facing emergency-level acute hunger.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, highlighted the gangs’ increasing violence and extortion in the Artibonite and West Departments, once relatively untouched by gang activity. She emphasized the gangs’ growing ambitions, both territorially and financially, relying on tactics such as extortion, kidnappings for ransom, and the killing of perceived opponents. Sexual violence, Shamdasani added, has become a method of control and punishment, with women and children among the victims.
The report also underscores the gangs’ aim to consolidate power, noting that some have exploited the nation’s political instability to destabilize the government while seeking amnesty and political influence. Warnings have circulated on social media from gang leaders, vowing more intense violence if their demands are not met, with a specific focus on the Multinational Security Support Mission.
Following the arrival of Kenyan peacekeeping forces, one gang leader posted a video online showing armed men pledging to resist the “foreign invaders.”
Despite an international arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council, Haiti’s gangs continue to carry out large-scale attacks with firearms, indicating a persistent flow of weapons into the country. Türk urged the international community to enforce the embargo and impose further sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, to stem the violence.
He also endorsed additional recommendations in the report aimed at fortifying Haiti’s weakened police force and judicial institutions, which have been undermined by systemic corruption. Türk called on authorities to protect vulnerable groups, particularly children, from gang influence and to address the rampant gender-based violence plaguing the country.
Haiti has remained in political turmoil since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Armed gangs have seized control of much of the capital, extending their reach to other regions, where they have committed massacres, kidnappings, human trafficking, and sexual violence, further destabilizing the already fragile nation.
