Spreading gang violence poses major risk to Haiti and Caribbean sub-region, UN human rights report warns

The report, by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office, details the evolution of violent gang incidents since October 2024 up to June 2025. It also shows how violence increased sharply in recent months, especially in the Lower Artibonite and Centre departments, as gangs continue to extend their influence along key routes in the north and centre of the country, and towards the Dominican Republic.

“Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited. The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population,” said Ulrika Richardson, ad interim Head of BINUH and UN Resident Coordinator.

Between 1 October 2024 and 30 June 2025, at least 1,018 people were killed, 213 others injured and 620 abducted in Artibonite and Centre, as well as in Ganthier and Fonds Parisien, west of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, the report says.

Over the same period, the total number of killings across Haiti was 4,864.*

The report notes that the mass killing in Pont Sondé (Lower Artibonite) in October 2024, which left over 100 people dead, marked a major turning point in the cycle of violence between gangs and the so-called ‘self-defence’ groups. Several other mass killings followed, causing mass displacement, including in the town of Mirebalais (Centre department) which earlier this year saw all its 100,000 residents flee.

The Haitian authorities have deployed specialised police units, supported by the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, to some extent slowing the gangs’ advances. Ultimately, however, given their lack of resources, they have been unable to reassert control over the affected areas.

Against this backdrop, human rights abuses by self-defence groups have increased. Summary executions involving Haitian security forces have also been committed against individuals accused of supporting gangs, the report says.

“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,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker 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,” he added.

The expansion of gang territorial control poses a major risk of spreading violence and increasing transnational trafficking in arms and people, the report says.

Among its recommendations, it calls on the Haitian authorities to ensure police have the necessary resources to tackle the gangs, in full respect of international human rights law. It calls for specialised judicial units to combat corruption and mass crimes, including sexual violence, to be established as soon as possible.

The report also calls on the international community to maintain BINUH’s full operational capacity so that the office can continue to advise and support the Haitian government in its efforts to strengthen good governance and ensure the respect for, and promotion of, human rights. The strengthening of MSS mission and the full implementation of the arms embargo will be equally essential to restore security and the rule of law in Haiti.

To read the full report, click here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/intensification-criminal-violence-lower-artibonite-centre-department-and

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*Between 1 January 2025 and 30 June at least 3,141 people were killed.

For more information and media requests, please contact:

• Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
• Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org