A United Nations human rights expert has sounded the alarm on the escalating crisis in Haiti, urging immediate and intensified efforts to restore security as the deadline for an international mission looms.
“The solutions are available, but action must be ramped up now,” U.N. expert William O’Neill said following his visit to Haiti. “This prolonged suffering needs to end. Time is running out.”
Haiti’s capital and surrounding areas are increasingly controlled by heavily armed gangs, largely supplied with weapons smuggled from the United States. The violence has led to mass displacement, food and medical shortages, and rising rates of hunger and sexual violence.
Haiti’s government had requested international assistance for a security mission in 2022, but with the mission’s one-year mandate nearing its end, only a fraction of the promised troops have arrived, and progress remains limited.
O’Neill emphasized that Haiti’s police force remains under-resourced, with inadequate equipment and ongoing arms trafficking fueling gang expansion. The internal displacement crisis has worsened, with 700,000 people—half of them children—now displaced, compared to 580,000 in June.
The southern regions, previously less affected, are now grappling with soaring inflation, supply shortages, and an influx of displaced individuals. O’Neill highlighted a rise in sexual violence, child trafficking, and recruitment of children by gangs.
Haiti’s health system is in crisis, with less than a third of services fully operational and nearly 5 million people facing severe hunger, especially in overcrowded prisons where several inmates have died from lack of food and poor conditions. Over 80% of prisoners have yet to face trial, and widespread corruption continues to plague the country, O’Neill said.
Despite promises of 2,900 troops from various countries, only 400 have been deployed, with just $63 million allocated to the U.N.’s trust fund for Haiti’s security efforts.
