The Rise of Gang Violence in Haiti

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), calls for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support mission authorized by the UN Security Council in October, in accordance with international human rights norms and standards

GENEVA/PORT-AU-PRINCE (28 November 2023) - A new UN report out today details a further, shocking rise in gang violence in Haiti as criminal gangs forge alliances and expand to rural areas previously considered safe – killing, raping, kidnapping, and destroying property, among other abuses.

The report, released by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), calls for the urgent deployment of the Multinational Security Support mission authorized by the UN Security Council in October, in accordance with international human rights norms and standards.  Increased efforts will need to be deployed to strengthen Haiti’s rule of law institutions, in particular the police, the judiciary, and the prison system, the report notes.

The report focuses on the Bas-Artibonite district, located in Central Haiti, about 100 kilometres from the capital Port-au-Prince, which has seen a significant rise in gang violence in the last two years.  Between January 2022 and October 2023, at least 1,694 people were killed, injured, or kidnapped in Bas-Artibonite.

Kidnapping for ransom by criminal groups has become a constant fear for users of public transport across Bas-Artibonite, the report states.  The story of Darleine, a 22-year-old woman is one of many: she was dragged off a bus in March this year by gang members, who held her captive for over two weeks and repeatedly beat and raped her.  A few weeks after she was released, she committed suicide.

The report documents criminal groups rampaging through “rival” villages, executing local people and using sexual violence against women and even very young children.  The groups also loot farmers’ properties, crops and livestock and destroy irrigation canals, contributing to the displacement of more than 22,000 people from their villages and significantly reducing the amount of cultivated land, heightening food insecurity.  In September 2023, more than 45 per cent of the population of Bas-Artibonite was in a situation of acute food insecurity.  Gang violence has also left many farming families unable to repay their debts or to access basic services.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that across Haiti, at least 3,960 people have been killed, 1,432 injured and 2,951 kidnapped in gang-related violence this year alone.

“The situation in Haiti is cataclysmic.  We are continuing to receive reports of killings, sexual violence, displacement and other violence – including in hospitals,” Türk said.

“With terrible violence against the population expanding – within and outside Port-au-Prince – and the inability of the police to stop them, the much-needed Multinational Security Support mission needs to be deployed to Haiti as soon as possible,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.

The High Commissioner stressed that the support mission must include internal oversight mechanisms and other safeguards to ensure its compliance with international human rights norms and standards.

Given the worsening violence and further to the October 2023 report of the UN Panel of Experts on Haiti, the report also calls on the Security Council to update the list of individuals and entities subject to UN sanctions for supporting, preparing, ordering, or committing acts contrary to international human rights law.

“There needs to be continued emphasis on the implementation of the arms embargo and sanctions targeting those behind this untenable situation,” the High Commissioner said.

“I also call on the Haitian authorities to fulfil their international human rights obligations and to put in place robust measures to strengthen the country’s institutions and improve governance, including by tackling corruption and addressing impunity.”

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The EU and the Caribbean - An engagement of political discourse

By Rebecca Theodore


As the Cold War languishes in the mausoleum of time, and twitching agonies of ghosts resonate in the void, reminding us of the long lived bi-polar days of the US and the Soviet Union, the European Union proves that it is a force to be reckoned with on the global international stage. Although not a nation state, the long-awaited Lisbon Treaty elevated its ranks to legally binding status and strengthened its foreign, security and defence policy even though the General Assembly recently sought to weaken its role in the UN. Hence, these developments come as guaranteed provisions, with political and diplomatic status to match the EU’s undoubted economic and commercial clout in the world at large. And now, the post-Cold War period, when the US was the only undisputed superpower, is over.

The EU is not only the biggest donor of aid to the developing world, and the leader in the Kyoto drive to reduce air pollution that causes global warming, but also leads the way in the struggle to safer food and a greener environment, better living standards in poorer regions, joint action on crime and terror, cheaper phone calls, and elimination of border controls facilitating freedom of movement thereby enhancing its reputation as a community of democratic values and liberal market economies.

Seeing that the EU’s influence in world affairs is on the increase, it becomes necessary to redefine political discourse with Caribbean states not only with France’s overseas regions of Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Martin, and French Guiana, which share cultural affinities with the Caribbean and use the euro as their common monetary unit, but the entire Caribbean at large, since the perceived distinctiveness of Caribbean states emerges from their shared historical experiences.

Critics have argued that political discourse with the EU means being bound by European Union law, as agreed in the European Parliament, and administered by the European Court of Justice and its various branches; but we cannot allow the quality of our thoughts to be polluted by ideology, as the EU and most of the Caribbean's political systems are based on pluralist democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.

Herein lies the predicament. If the Caribbean is to effectively tackle its socio-economic and environmental problems, the cost of energy, and communications, then the proposed solution for CARICOM and CARIFORUM to ensure a smooth integration of the region into the world economy is through partnership with the EU. On the other hand, if CARICOM’s main objective is the promotion of the assimilation of its member states through the integration of a single market economy, co-ordination and functional co-operation of foreign policies of its independent states; then the establishment of a more stable and transparent framework for the growth of businesses, and the security of investments in the Caribbean can be achieved through political co-operation in the diversification of political, economic and trade relations with the EU, as the EU supports the creation of a regional unit in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean faces a number of challenges, and political discourse with the EU will emphasize how these challenges can be transformed into opportunities. A decisive political partnership based on shared values, addressing economic and environmental vulnerabilities, promoting social cohesion, and combating poverty will see the birth of good and effective governance, respect for human rights, and improvements in gender equality in the Caribbean.

The presence of the EU in the Caribbean evokes a study in political discourse. The Caribbean can soar to heights unknown and anchor its zenith of economic freedom through political discourse with the EU. Therefore, CARICOM and CARIFORUM states should begin formulations and advising on conciliation strategies with the EU to enhance political, economic and social co-operation for a better and safer world.

November 10, 2010

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