UN Warns Haiti's Worsening Gang Violence Threatens Regional Stability

A grim new report from the United Nations paints a disturbing picture of Haiti’s spiraling gang violence, warning that the intensifying crisis not only endangers the Haitian people but risks destabilizing the wider Caribbean region. According to the joint publication by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office, over 4,800 people have been killed across Haiti between October 2024 and June 2025, with more than 1,000 of those deaths occurring in the increasingly volatile rural departments beyond the capital.

The violence, the report notes, is no longer confined to the densely populated slums of Port-au-Prince. Armed groups have expanded their influence along strategic northern and central transportation routes, inching toward the Dominican Republic border and spreading chaos to previously calmer regions.

Mass Atrocities and Displacement Escalate

The data reveals staggering levels of violence. From 1 October 2024 to 30 June 2025, at least 1,018 people were killed, 213 injured, and 620 abducted in Artibonite and Centre departments, as well as in Ganthier and Fonds Parisien—towns lying just outside the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

One of the most shocking incidents was a massacre in Pont Sondé in Lower Artibonite in October 2024, where more than 100 people were killed in a single attack. The incident marked a critical shift in the balance of terror between heavily armed criminal gangs and the growing number of vigilante “self-defence” groups. This deadly dynamic has triggered mass displacement across the country. In Mirebalais, Centre department, the entire town of 100,000 residents fled, leaving a virtual ghost city in its wake.

The State’s Eroding Presence and Human Rights Crisis

The report expresses deep concern over the government’s inability to protect civilians, noting that many of the attacks occurred in areas where the State has virtually no presence. Ulrika Richardson, the interim head of BINUH and UN Resident Coordinator in Haiti, called for a more robust international response. “The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population,” she said.

Despite the deployment of specialized Haitian police units, bolstered by the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, progress has been slow. Lacking both manpower and resources, local law enforcement has failed to regain meaningful control over gang-dominated areas.

Security Forces and Vigilantes Accused of Abuses

Alarmingly, the report also implicates both Haitian security forces and self-defence groups in grave human rights violations. While vigilante groups have emerged in some communities to resist gang domination, their methods have increasingly mirrored the brutality of the very gangs they oppose.

Moreover, there are documented cases of Haitian security forces carrying out extrajudicial executions against individuals accused of gang affiliations. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the abuses, warning, “Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups.”

Regional Ramifications and International Responsibilities

The unchecked expansion of gang territories poses a significant transnational threat, including the potential spread of arms and human trafficking networks throughout the Caribbean. The report urges immediate action to prevent further regional destabilization.

Key recommendations include:

• Adequately resourcing Haitian police while ensuring strict compliance with international human rights law.

• Creating specialized judicial units to tackle corruption, organized crime, and sexual violence.

• Strengthening the MSS mission to restore law and order.

• Fully enforcing the international arms embargo to cut off weapons supplies to armed groups.

• Maintaining BINUH’s full operational capacity to guide and support Haitian institutions in rebuilding democratic governance and upholding human rights.

A Call for Coordinated Global Response

The report underscores that without swift, coordinated intervention, the crisis in Haiti may escalate beyond repair, pushing millions into deeper insecurity and creating conditions ripe for mass migration, famine, and protracted violence.

“This is a pivotal moment,” said Türk. “The human rights violations and abuses that we have documented are further evidence of why Haiti and the international community urgently need to step up to end the violence.”