Haiti is in the grip of widespread gang violence, the country’s institutions are on the verge of collapse and its citizens are facing a daily fight for survival. Yet, in the midst of this catastrophic security and humanitarian crisis, the UN continues to provide critical assistance to the beleaguered population.
The situation in the gang-ravaged capital of Haiti has gone from worrying to “extremely alarming” as conditions in Port-au-Prince continue to worsen amid growing hunger and serious shortages in hospitals to treat gunshot victims, said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator there on Thursday.
Out-of-control gang violence has created a humanitarian crisis in Haiti that the UN aims to help alleviate with the creation of an airbridge with the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with aid operations at risk of “grinding to a halt” amid rampant violence as Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on Monday and armed gangs tightened their grip on the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Waves of violence have displaced more than 15,000 Haitians in just a week amid ongoing looting at the country’s main port, according to the latest report from the UN agency for migration, as the Security Council on Monday strongly condemned “destabilizing” criminal activity by armed gangs ravaging the Caribbean nation.
Amid a mass prison breakout, expanding gang violence and rising hunger, the UN human rights chief on Wednesday urged the international community to act “swiftly and decisively to prevent the Caribbean country’s further descent into chaos”.
The UN Secretary-General reiterated his deep concern on Tuesday over the “rapidly deteriorating” security situation in Haiti as violent gangs tighten their grip on the country in the wake of a jailbreak at the weekend which saw nearly 4,000 criminals return to the streets.
Humanitarians are hoping that donors will robustly support a $674 million appeal for Haiti, where armed gangs continue to terrorize the population, a senior UN official said on Wednesday during a briefing to journalists in New York.
More than 8,400 people were victims of gang violence in Haiti last year, including killings, injuries and kidnappings – a 122 per cent increase over 2022, the UN Special Representative for the country told the UN Security Council on Thursday.
“Haiti is not hopeless”, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Monday during a meeting addressing the multiple crises besetting the Caribbean nation, alongside the presidents of the UN Security Council and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
