Port-au-Prince (AFP) – UN chief Antonio Guterres cited “glimmers of hope” for Haiti in a visit Tuesday to the impoverished Caribbean nation long plagued by political, economic, and security woes. The secretary-general, who last traveled to Port-au-Prince in July 2023, will meet with men, women, and children whose lives have been affected by the violence, according to his office.
Guterres arrived by helicopter from the Dominican Republic, the neighboring — and far more stable and prosperous — country sharing the island. Posting pictures of himself in the helicopter and the view down onto Haiti, Guterres urged the international community to “stop looking away.”
“The humanitarian situation here is desperate, but there are faint glimmers of hope,” Guterres wrote in the post on X. “We must stand with Haiti.” 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. Its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in July 2021.
– ‘Multidimensional crisis’ – The UN Security Council last year gave its approval to a new international Gang Suppression Force (GSF) tasked with neutralizing the groups. The force is to gradually replace the under-equipped and under-funded Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), which was primarily tasked with backing up Haiti’s national police.
Spokesman Farhan 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.
© 2024 AFP
