UN Chief to Visit Haiti: Addressing Violence, Instability, and Victim Support
UNITED NATIONS, United States — UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres will travel to Haiti on Tuesday to show solidarity with victims of gang violence and assess the country’s deepening humanitarian and security crisis, his office announced.
Guterres, who last visited Port‑au‑Prince in July 2023, will meet with men, women, and children affected by the violence, according to spokesman Farhan Haq. “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.”
Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, has endured years of instability as powerful gangs carry out rampant killings, rapes, looting, and kidnappings. Nearly 1.5 million people are currently displaced out of a population of about 11 million, and more than five million face severe food insecurity, according to UN figures.
The security crisis worsened in early 2024 when gangs forced the unelected prime minister to resign. An interim presidential council took over, but when its mandate expired in February, executive power passed to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils‑Aime. Haiti has not held elections since 2016, largely due to poor security.
The UN Security Council last year approved a new international Gang Suppression Force to neutralize the groups, gradually replacing the previous Multinational Mission, which was criticized as under‑equipped and under‑funded.
UN rights chief Volker Turk on Monday called the new force “urgently needed” and urged 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,” he said. A report from his office said gang‑related violence claimed more than 5,500 lives between March 2025 and January 2026, with nearly 3,500 deaths occurring during anti‑gang operations.
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