UN Secretary-General Visits Haiti to Address Surging Gang Violence and Instability
PORT‑AU‑PRINCE, Haiti — UN Secretary‑General António Guterres arrived in Haiti on Tuesday as surging gang violence has left more than one in ten people homeless, with new UN figures showing 2,300 people killed so far this year and 1.5 million displaced across the country.
Guterres’ convoy sped through neighborhoods once controlled by gangs, past bullet‑riddled buildings and makeshift shelters housing hundreds of families forced from their homes. In one school shelter, more than 1,200 people sleep side by side with only one guaranteed meal a day. “We want to go back home!” a man shouted, banging on metal siding, as security rushed the UN chief away.
His first stop was the headquarters of a new gang‑suppression force approved by the UN Security Council in September. The force, which is due to start operations in coming weeks, replaces an underfunded Kenyan‑led mission. Jamaica, Chad, El Salvador, and Guatemala have deployed fewer than 1,000 troops so far.
Guterres met behind closed doors with Prime Minister Alix Didier‑Fils‑Aimé, who is under pressure to hold elections something Haiti has not done since 2016. “Security is a priority so the transitional government can hold elections and get back to republican rule,” the prime minister said.
At the shelter, Guterres met privately with six women who decried the lack of privacy and worried about their children. “We’re going to do our best,” he told them.
A day before the visit, Human Rights Watch urged Guterres to push for a “full‑fledged UN mission” in Haiti. “Even when fully staffed and resourced, security measures alone will not suffice,” the group wrote, calling for victim protection, accountability, and a coordinated humanitarian response.
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