In a New Assessment, the UN Warns of Increasing Violence and Widespread Displacement in Haiti

The amount of violence in Haiti is rapidly increasing, and gang activity is at all-time highs. The rise started in October 2024 and has lasted through June of this year, according to a recent United Nations study. The UN notes that although Port-au-Prince is still a hotspot, the turmoil is also swiftly expanding into rural areas, where there is almost no official control.

According to Ravina Shamdasani, spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “since October 2024, the increasing gang violence outside Port-au-Prince, where the state’s presence is extremely limited, has claimed over 1,000 lives and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

A concerning increase in human rights violations by alleged self-defence organisations is also mentioned in the study. Originally formed in reaction to gang violence, these armed civilian organisations are now being linked to an increasing number of crimes. The UN is calling for immediate international action.

“The abuses and violations of human rights that we have documented are additional proof that Haiti and the international community must act immediately to put an end to this violence,” Shamdasani continued.

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