UN chief Guterres to visit Haiti as gang violence surges

UN chief Antonio Guterres will visit gang-ravaged Haiti on Tuesday to show solidarity with victims of violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation long plagued by political, economic and security woes.

The secretary-general last traveled to Port-au-Prince in July 2023. Antonio Guterres will meet with men, women and children whose lives are affected by the violence, according to his office.

"He will see firsthand the humanitarian and security challenges facing the country, as well as efforts by national authorities and the international community to restore stability and support the Haitian people," spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has for years suffered from instability as powerful gangs carry out rampant killings, rapes, looting and kidnappings.

Nearly 1.5 million people are currently displaced in a country of about 11 million, and more than five million are facing severe food insecurity, according to UN figures.

The security crisis worsened in early 2024, when gangs launched a wave of violence that forced the country's unelected prime minister to resign.

He was replaced by an interim presidential council, but when the council's mandate expired in February this year, executive power passed to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016, primarily because of poor security.

'Multidimensional crisis'

The UN Security Council last year gave its approval to a new international Gang Suppression Force tasked with neutralizing the groups.

The force will gradually replace the previous Multinational Mission to Support the Haitian Police (MMAS), which was criticized as under-equipped and under-funded.

Haq said Guterres will "assess the support given by the United Nations to Haiti in facing its multidimensional crisis, including the logistical and operational support to the Gang Suppression Force."

He is also expected to meet with Fils-Aime.
UN rights chief Volker Turk on Monday said the new Gang Suppression Force is "urgently needed" as he called on Haitian authorities to tackle rampant impunity.

"In Haiti, gang violence has resulted in at least 2,300 deaths, 1,100 injuries and 99 kidnappings since the start of the year. I urge the authorities to move quickly on the judicial units to tackle impunity," Turk said.

A report published by his office in late March said gang-related violence claimed more than 5,500 lives between March 1, 2025 and January 15, 2026.

Most of the deaths -- nearly 3,500 -- occurred during anti-gang operations, including a large number of alleged gang members as well as civilians.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)