Gang violence in Haiti continues to have a devastating impact on the country's population, according to a new human rights report by the United Nations political mission in Haiti (BINUH). Tuesday's report, which covers the last quarter of 2024, says at least 1,732 people were killed and 411 injured as a result of direct gang violence, as well as self-defense groups and police operations.
The total number of people killed in gang-related violence last year was 5,626, a sharp increase from 2023, and 2,213 people were injured. Between October and the end of December 2024, at least 431 people were kidnapped for ransom by gangs, bringing the total number of kidnappings in 2024 to 1,494.
Between 2022 and 2024, more than 22,000 people have now been killed, injured or kidnapped in connection with gang violence.
In a statement, BINUH, which is also known as the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, said that the human rights situation in Haiti remained very alarming during the fourth quarter of last year, which also saw an alarming rise in mob killings and lynchings of suspected gang members. At least 268 people were lynched or executed under such circumstances, bringing the total to at least 596 in 2024.
The period from October to December was marked by three horrific massacres that left more than 300 dead in the Wharf Jérémie neighborhood in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as in Pont Sondé in the city of Saint-Marc and Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite in the department of Artibonite.
BINUH also highlighted the high number of people killed during law enforcement operations against gangs, with at least 771 people killed or injured in the fourth quarter. An alarming 38 percent of these were residents, who were often hit by stray bullets in the streets or in their homes.
There were also reports of summary executions allegedly carried out by police officers. At least 80 people were killed in such circumstances in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to 281 for 2024.
Among the dead were Haitians accused of gang affiliation, as well as motorcycle taxi drivers and street vendors who were unable to provide identification or justify their presence in certain neighborhoods.
BINUH renewed its concerns about gender-based violence, as gang members continued to rape and sexually exploit women and young girls, as well as recruit young boys to strengthen their control over the local population.
The gangs have also maintained their strategy of restricting the movement of people and vehicles on the main roads leading to and from the capital. In addition, they have carried out attacks and looted public and private buildings, including schools and hospitals.
In the face of these abuses and human rights violations, the Haitian authorities have taken only minimal steps to hold perpetrators accountable and to combat impunity.
According to the UN mission, some legal proceedings have been initiated to combat corruption. However, after the Wharf Jérémie and Pont Sondé massacres, while police investigations were launched, no judicial action had been taken to ensure accountability as of the end of last year.
BINUH called on the international community to keep Haiti on the international agenda and to speed up the full deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in accordance with human rights standards and norms, as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 (2023).
Resolution 2699 authorized an international force to assist the Haitian police. After months of delays, four hundred Kenyan security officers arrived in Haiti in June 2024 as part of the international police contingent sent to quell rampant gang violence in the Caribbean nation.
The total number of police personnel now exceeds 1,000 after another contingent from El Salvador arrived in Haiti on Tuesday to bolster the MSS mission. However, it remains unclear when the full force, which is expected to include up to 2,500 police officers, will be deployed.
The new US administration's cutoff of foreign aid is having a ripple effect around the world, targeting the world's most vulnerable populations. It also impacts Haiti.
On Tuesday, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the UN had received "an official notification" from the United States requesting an immediate halt to its financial contribution to the Multinational Security Support Force in Haiti.
Dujarric told journalists that while the U.S. pledged $15 million to the trust fund and $1.7 million has been spent so far, the remaining $13.3 million is frozen for now.
Haiti has been plagued by instability since 2021, when President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Heavily armed gangs have sought to fill the vacuum, seizing up to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince and extending their violent grip to several areas beyond. The UN estimates that gangs now control 85 percent of the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area (PPMA).
The armed violence has created a dire humanitarian crisis, with half of Haiti's population, some 6 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance, among them 3.3 million children.
More than one million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, according to figures released in January by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) - many of them forced to flee multiple times.
The latest displacement figures represent the highest recorded number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to violence in the Caribbean nation. Haiti is the country with the largest number of people displaced by crime-related violence in the world.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the recruitment of children by armed gangs has increased by 70 percent in the past year, with up to 50 percent of gang members in Haiti now estimated to be children.
A record 5.4 million Haitians are facing acute hunger, including 2 million people in emergency hunger (IPC Phase 4), suffering from extreme food shortages, acute malnutrition and high levels of disease. Children are particularly vulnerable, with at least 125,000 estimated to be acutely malnourished.
The health system, on the verge of collapse, faces severe challenges, crippled by both the recent violence and years of underinvestment, with only about one-third of hospitals and health services in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area fully operational.
At the same time, humanitarian operations in the country remain woefully underfunded.
The humanitarian community estimated that US$674 million would be needed in 2024 to provide life-saving assistance to the affected population. As of February 2025, the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Haiti was only 44 percent funded, denying millions of Haitians the assistance they desperately need.
The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti seeks US$906 million to provide life-saving assistance to 4 million of the most vulnerable people. As of today, there is no data available on funding progress.
Further information
Full text: Quarterly report on the Human Rights Situation in Haiti, October - December 2024, United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) , report, released February 4, 2025 (via ReliefWeb)
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/403928b1-265d-4234-82fb-8c6198e46929/human_rights_quarterly_report_-_october-december_2024_-_en.pdf