Amid the catastrophic human rights situation and dire humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean country, the UN human rights expert for Haiti has called on all states not to forcibly return anyone to Haiti. This statement comes as more than 121,000 women, children, and men have been deported to Haiti between January and June of this year.
“The human rights situation in Haiti is catastrophic by any measure. In my 30 years working in, and on, the country, I have never seen this level of sustained violence and fear,” said Bill (William) O'Neill, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights-designated expert on human rights in Haiti.
“There is currently no possibility for a safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians who are abroad. If anything, their country is much more dangerous than the one they fled.”
In a statement on Friday, the UN expert warned that kidnappings, killings, sexual violence, and other gross human rights violations and abuses have reached dramatic levels.
Since early 2025, waves of extreme brutality have resulted in widespread casualties. According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), more than 2,700 people were killed in gang-related violence in the first five months of the year alone.
Haiti is also facing a severe humanitarian crisis driven by the escalating violence and subsequent collapse of essential services. Armed groups have tightened their control over the capital and spread far beyond it, leaving the population devastated by gang violence.
The violence has forced at least 1.3 million Haitians to flee their homes, half of whom are children. The number of displaced people has increased by 25 percent since last December. Haiti now has the highest number of people ever displaced by violence — 11 percent of the population.
Haiti is among the world’s top five hunger hotspots, where people face extreme hunger, starvation, and death. Unless urgent humanitarian action is swiftly taken to de-escalate conflict, stop displacement, and provide full-scale aid, the situation will only worsen.
With over half of the population struggling with acute food insecurity, Haiti faces a severe hunger crisis. The latest food security report shows that a record 5.7 million people are acutely hungry due to relentless gang violence and an ongoing economic collapse.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), over 2 million people are experiencing emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4). The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that over 1 million Haitian children are exposed to IPC Phase 4.
Meanwhile, approximately 8,400 people are likely facing catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC Phase 5). IPC Phase 5 is the most critical level of acute food insecurity. Those experiencing this level face extreme food shortages and severe acute malnutrition, which puts them at risk of starvation.
According to the OHCHR, children are routinely recruited to join gangs. Sexual violence has increased significantly, with gang rape being used to exploit, humiliate, and assert power. However, services for survivors are limited, and impunity for sexual crimes prevails.
Additionally, Haiti ranks among the five countries with the highest number of child victims of sexual violence and the highest number of grave violations against children.
Gang violence has spread beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, to the northern part of the country. Major urban centers and roads in the Central Plateau, a key lifeline to Haiti’s north, are also dominated by gangs. The Artibonite Valley, the country’s breadbasket, is now largely under gang control.
"In short, nowhere in Haiti is safe right now," said O'Neill.
According to international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulement obligates states to not return any person from their territory or under their jurisdiction to a place where there are substantial grounds for believing that the individual would be at risk of persecution, torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, or other irreparable harm.
O’Neill reiterated the calls of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi for all states to refrain from forcibly returning individuals to Haiti.
This includes “those who have had their asylum protection claims rejected or who have otherwise been found not to be in need of international protection, and to consider legal stay arrangements with appropriate safeguards.”
The Caribbean island nation has been plagued by gang violence and instability since President Jovenel MoĂŻse was assassinated in 2021. The national police force is understaffed and ill-equipped, and it has been unable to stop the gangs from terrorizing the population, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The ongoing armed violence has brought Haiti to the brink of collapse. At least half of the population, or six million people, including 3.3 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, funding remains critically low. As of today, only 8 percent of the 2025 Haiti Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has been funded, with just over $75 million received out of more than $908 million needed.