As Haiti faces a worsening conflict involving heavily armed gangs, the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped has surged in 2023, according to a new United Nations report. The number of reported homicides last year increased by nearly 120 percent compared with 2022, with 4,789 victims reported during 2023. Haiti now has a homicide rate of 40.9 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world.
The number of victims of kidnapping rose from 1,359 reported in 2022 to 2,490 in 2023, representing an 83 percent increase. The UN report said gang-related homicide and kidnapping rates intensified, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to abandon their homes.
"I am appalled by the staggering and worsening level of gang violence devastating the lives of Haitians, in particular in Port-au-Prince," United Nations Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres said in the report, published Tuesday.
"Gang killings, kidnappings and sexual violence, notably against women and young girls, among other abuses, continue with widespread impunity."
Guterres also said the rapid spread of gang violence to rural areas previously considered safe, in particular in the Artibonite Department, “is further cause for serious alarm”.
“I urgently call upon the international community to increase its support for the humanitarian and development responses in Haiti, focusing on the immediate protection needs of the most vulnerable, while also investing in the structural root causes of instability”, the Secretary-General said.
On Thursday, MarĂa Isabel Salvador, the head of the UN mission in Haiti (BINUH), briefed the Security Council on the report’s findings. She said Haiti remains plagued by escalating violence – with an unprecedented surge in kidnappings, rapes and other crimes committed by armed gangs, increasingly affecting the livelihoods of people and undermining humanitarian activities.
“I cannot overstress the severity of the situation in Haiti, where multiple protracted crises have reached a critical point,” Salvador said.
Last year, the UN office documented overall more than 8,400 direct victims of gang violence, including people killed, injured and kidnapped. This is an increase of 122 percent as compared to 2022.
According to the report, West and Artibonite Departments continue to be affected by extreme insecurity marked by indiscriminate armed gang violence against civilians and attacks against police units and infrastructure. Within the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, gang influence expanded at an alarming rate into previously less affected areas, such as Carrefour-Feuilles, Solino, Bon Repos, Mariani and Léogâne.
The UN report warned that business owners, government officials and everyday commuters travelling on public transportation were at the highest risk of abduction for ransom by armed gangs.
Between October and December 2023, Cité Soleil and Port-au-Prince were the communes worst affected by gang violence, registering more than 40 percent of all victims of killings and injuries reported nationwide.
The report also said residents, including children as young as five years old, were killed in their homes or in the streets by stray bullets and during random and indiscriminate mass shootings meant to kill as many people as possible. In these same neighborhoods, gangs continue to recruit children and vulnerable young people into their ranks.
Haiti has also seen an alarming increase in mob killings and lynchings of suspected gang members. Last year, hundreds of alleged gang members across all ten departments of Haiti have been lynched by local people and vigilante groups.
“Since my last briefing, at least 75 people were reported killed by civilian vigilante movements that have emerged as a self-defense against gangs. Violence, displacement, and loss of livelihood have left thousands of children vulnerable to gang recruitment,” the UN envoy noted.
Salvador said she would continue to encourage all Haitian stakeholders to effectively prepare for the deployment of the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS). She also renewed her appeal to UN Member States to contribute generously to ensure the timely deployment of the multinational mission to Haiti.
On October 2, 2023, the Security Council authorized an international force to support Haiti’s police. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, Council members voted for the non-UN Multinational Security Support Mission. The Mission's objective is to assist the Haitian police in curbing rising gang violence and restoring security in the Caribbean country.
Also addressing the Security Council meeting on Haiti today was Tirana Hassan, executive director at the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW). She said Haitians urgently needed a rights-based international response amid the surge in killings and kidnappings, rampant sexual violence, and a severe food crisis.
“Haitians are experiencing terrifying levels of violence, while also struggling to feed their families and get access to other basic necessities,” Hassan said. “Each day that passes without a meaningful increase in international support that addresses all aspects of the crisis puts more lives at risk.”
“This Council took an important step to address the crisis in Haiti last October, by authorizing the multinational security support force and highlighting many dimensions of the crisis that need to be addressed in a holistic way,” Hassan added.
Resolution 2699 (2023) authorizes the Security Support Mission for an initial period of one year, with a review after nine months. It is unclear when the force will be deployed.
“Unfortunately, deployment of the force and other critical components of a rights-based response have stalled, and the situation for many Haitians has only worsened.”
Kenya has volunteered to lead the Multinational Security Support Mission and has pledged about a thousand police officers. The Caribbean countries of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda have also said they will contribute personnel. However, the deployment is pending a ruling from Kenya’s High Court on the legality of the Kenyan participation.
In Haiti, millions of people need humanitarian aid, amid the deteriorating security situation. The UN warns that humanitarian access is seriously compromised by insecurity. The United Nations estimates that more than 5.5 million people - nearly half of the population - require humanitarian aid this year. Among those in need are nearly 3 million children – the highest number on record.
Violent armed gangs control much of the capital, gain increasing control of Port-au-Prince, and have spread to other parts of the country. They have carried out massacres and kidnappings, human trafficking and sexual violence. An estimated two million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas that are effectively controlled by gangs.
The deteriorating security situation has also aggravated the humanitarian crisis, with more than 40 percent of the population, around 4.35 million people, experiencing acute hunger. About 1.4 million people are suffering from emergency levels of hunger.
Armed groups commit serious abuses against the population, forcing entire communities to flee. Some 200,000 people have been internally displaced due to violence since 2022, and tens of thousands have attempted to flee the country.
Further information
Full text: Statement by Ms. MarĂa Isabel Salvador Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and head of BINUH, United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, published January 25, 2024
https://binuh.unmissions.org/en/statement-ms-mar%C3%ADa-isabel-salvador%C2%A0special-representative-secretary-general-haiti-and-head-binuh%C2%A0
Full text: Haiti: Escalating Violence Threatens Millions, Human Rights Watch (HRW), press release, published January 25, 2024
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/25/haiti-escalating-violence-threatens-millions
Full text: United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti: Report of the Secretary-General, S/2024/62, released January 23, 2024
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4034480/files/S_2024_62-EN.pdf?ln=en