HC Türk: "The Illicit Flow Of Arms Into Haiti Must Stop"

Human rights situation in Haiti
Update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk
Geneva, 28 March 2025
58th session of the Human Rights Council

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

The human rights situation in Haiti has reached yet another crisis point.

When I last visited Haiti, I heard communities calling out for help, exhausted and frightened from years of violence, insecurity and unbearable precarity. In the two years since then, the situation has dramatically worsened.

Their plea must be heard.

Gangs are spreading into what were once gang-free areas in Port-au-Prince and its outskirts and are capturing key territory and infrastructure. Gangs have united to launch coordinated attacks, armed with powerful weapons and in some cases outnumbering and outpowering national security forces.

Gangs are killing ordinary people, brutally punishing those who defy their rules, or are suspected of collaborating with the police or self-defense groups.

I have to pause here for a minute, because I am not sure the usual description of gang violence captures the amount of unbearable suffering that has been inflicted on the Haitian people.

The report before you details how the use of trafficked firearms and different forms of ammunition are fueling a destructive cycle of violence, leading to severe human rights violations and abuses.

Reports estimate that between 270,000 and 500,000 firearms are circulating illegally in Haiti, with most weapons in the hands of gangs. These weapons, which are increasingly sophisticated, are not manufactured in Haiti, but consistently flow in from elsewhere.

Full implementation of the Security Council’s arms embargo, as well as its targeted asset freeze and travel ban, is absolutely critical.

During the reporting period, between 1 July 2024 and 28 February 2025, 4,239 people were killed and 1,356 injured. Our Office estimates that [92]% of the casualties resulted from the use of firearms.

Several mass killings were documented. For example, during five days in early December, at least 207 people were killed by gangs controlling the Wharf Jérémie neighbourhood of Cité Soleil.

The Viv Ansanm gang coalition and others have destroyed public institutions, including schools, orphanages, healthcare centres and courts, attacked media outlets and humanitarian actors, and ransacked businesses. The ubiquitous presence of guns is central to their use of violence.

Sexual violence, including collective rape and sexual exploitation, is increasingly used by gangs as a tool to coerce communities and assert their dominance. Under the threat of arms, many victims were attacked in their homes, while others were abducted, raped in public spaces, or seized while traveling on public transport. Several victims were shot dead after being raped. Services for survivors remain extremely scarce. The Office has also documented the forced recruitment, exploitation and trafficking of children by gangs.

My Office has documented more than 700 kidnappings. All were carried out by people with guns. Those who attempted to resist abduction were often shot dead.

Mr. President,

Gangs are implementing their own form of governance in the areas under their control. Despite significant efforts by the Haitian National Police, gang attacks are challenging the State’s control over remaining territory and its ability to regain territories from the gangs.

During the reporting period, more than 2000 people were killed or injured in law enforcement operations against gangs, a 60% increase compared to the previous six-month period. Almost one third of those killed were hit when they were not involved in acts of violence, often struck by stray bullets while in the streets or at home.

My Office has documented at least 219 cases of summary executions by specialized police units during the reporting period, a substantial increase from 33 in 2023.

Lynchings of gang members by self-defense groups and spontaneous angry mobs, sometimes facilitated or witnessed by Haitian police officers, have increased over the past few months, as the Haitian National Police and the Multinational Security Support Mission are overwhelmed and lack resources.

I urge States to quickly advance the deployment of this Mission. OHCHR is providing advice to the mission, in relation to the development and implementation of the human rights compliance mechanism requested by the Security Council.

Corruption continues to be widespread in State institutions, including the judiciary and the police, which impedes their efficiency and the delivery of crucial services.

And impunity for human rights violations deeply erodes public trust.

Mr. President,

The catastrophic humanitarian situation is deepening.

More than 1 million people have been displaced in Haiti, many multiple times, 40,000 of whom have been forced to move in the past few weeks alone. One in every two Haitians - 5.5 million people – face acute food insecurity. Two million people face emergency levels of hunger. Nearly 6,000 displaced people are living in famine-like conditions.

The impact on children is particularly devastating. Over half a million children are displaced, 50% more than in September 2024. Nearly one in four children in Haiti suffers from stunting due to malnutrition, which will impact them for life.

Only half of health facilities are fully operational in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, with 31% forced to close due to insecurity over the years.

Amidst all of this, the political transition – which held so much hope - is hanging by a thread.

Monsieur le Président,

Il existe une issue à cette catastrophe. Ce serait possible avec une volonté politique et un engagement continu des autorités et de la communauté internationale.

Le rétablissement de la sécurité est fondamental et les causes de la crise doivent être traitées.

La corruption et l'impunité ont alimenté cette crise et continuent de l'attiser. Avec le soutien de la communauté internationale, les autorités doivent de toute urgence éradiquer la corruption au sein des institutions étatiques.

Et comme c’est le cas dans de nombreuses crises à travers le monde, l'impunité encourage les auteurs des crimes.

Il faut établir les responsabilités des auteurs de violations et d'atteintes aux droits humains. Je salue la récente décision des autorités haïtiennes de créer deux pôles judiciaires spécialisés pour traiter les violations et les graves atteintes aux droits humains, notamment les violences sexuelles et les crimes financiers.

Mais il reste encore beaucoup à faire pour garantir la justice et mettre fin au cycle de violences insensées.

Et j’exhorte une fois de plus les autorités à travailler ensemble pour faire avancer la transition politique, dans l’intérêt du peuple haïtien.

Mr. President,

The most crucial first step here is to stop the illicit flow of arms into the country.

And without sustained action on the factors that are perpetuating this chaos, any gains in security or stability will be temporary.

And I call on each and every one of you, including the media, to put the spotlight on this crisis, so that the intolerable suffering and destruction can end.

The Haitian people cannot be forgotten.

To read the full report, click here A/HRC/58/76: Situation of human rights in Haiti - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Advance unedited version | OHCHR: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5876-situation-human-rights-haiti-report-united-nations-high

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