The United Nations has sounded a grim alarm over Haiti’s worsening security crisis, revealing that more than 16,000 people have been killed in armed violence since January 2022.
“The human rights situation in Haiti has reached a boiling point,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday, warning that “the worst may be yet to come” if urgent action is not taken.
Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has long been plagued by violent criminal gangs that thrive amid chronic political instability.
Murders, rapes, kidnappings, and looting have surged in recent months, spreading fear well beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, and threatening to destabilize the wider Caribbean region.
According to Türk, more than 7,000 people have also been injured since monitoring of gang-related violence began in 2022.
The UN Security Council earlier this week approved the transformation of Haiti’s current UN-backed mission into a larger international security force.
The newly authorized deployment will consist of up to 5,500 uniformed personnel, including both police officers and soldiers, tasked with confronting armed gangs.
“International commitment and support are urgent,” Türk stressed. “Without them, the spiral of violence will deepen, with devastating consequences for Haiti and beyond.”
He expressed alarm over the Haitian government’s increasing reliance on explosive drones in anti-gang operations.
As of mid-September, at least 559 people, including 11 children, have been killed in drone strikes—many of which Türk said were “likely unlawful” under international human rights law.
The UN rights chief also condemned the rise of vigilante violence, revealing that so-called self-defense groups and spontaneous mobs have killed more than 500 suspected gang members this year alone.
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