Haiti nearing ‘point of no return’ amid gang violence, UN consultant warns

Haiti, the place rampant gang violence has surged in fresh weeks, is coming near a “point of no return” resulting in “total chaos”, the UN particular consultant to the stricken Caribbean country has warned.

“As gang violence continues to spread to new areas of the country, Haitians experience growing levels of vulnerability and increasing skepticism about the ability of the state to respond to their needs,” María Isabel Salvador advised the UN securitycouncil.

“Haiti could face total chaos,” she stated, including that world help used to be desperately had to keep away from that destiny. “I urge you to remain engaged and answer the urgent needs of the country and its people.”

Salvador cited cholera outbreaks and gender-based violence along a deteriorating safety scenario, in particular within the capital, Port-au-Prince, with government suffering to manage.

The poorest nation within the western hemisphere, Haiti faces critical political instability, whilst swaths of the rustic are below the regulate of rival armed gangs who perform standard murders, rapes and kidnappings.

The armed teams had been combating for regulate of Port-au-Prince and clashes have intensified because the rival gangs try to determine new territories.

A Kenyan-led pressure approved via the United Nations has didn’t chase away the gangs. The venture has round 1,000 cops from six international locations however used to be supposed to have 2,500.

In a file observed via AFP, the UN secretary basic, António Guterres, warned that additional world toughen used to be “required immediately to allow the national police to prevent the capital slipping closer to the brink”.

Haiti’s ambassador to the UN, Ericq Pierre, stated his nation used to be “slowly dying”.

“The Republic of Haiti is slowly dying under the combined action of armed gangs, drug traffickers and arms dealers,” he stated, calling on his companions to “help rid the country of the gangs that are terrorizing the population”.

The file detailed the upsurge in violence, with the UN recording 2,660 homicides within the 3 months from December 2024 – a 41.3% build up over the former quarter.

Anti-gang operations led to 702 folks killed in that point, of which 21% had been estimated to be blameless civilians, the file stated.

Gender-based violence additionally recorded an alarming build up, with 347 incidents reported within the 5 months to February 2025, in line with UN knowledge.

Collective rape used to be the most typical violation, accounting for 61% of circumstances.