UN Warns Haiti's Capital at Risk of Gang Overrun Without Increased Global Support

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for urgent international action to bolster Haiti's security forces as gang violence escalates, threatening state collapse.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that delays in international support could lead to gangs overrunning Port-au-Prince, causing a total breakdown of state authority in Haiti.
• The Kenya-led multinational security force, approved in October 2023, has deployed fewer than 800 officers, far short of the 2,500 initially planned, hindering its effectiveness.
• Gang violence in Haiti has surged since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, with over 5,600 reported killings in 2024 and more than a million people displaced from their homes.
• Haiti's government and the UN are advocating for the transformation of the current multinational force into a UN peacekeeping mission, though funding and international consensus remain obstacles.
• The humanitarian crisis in Haiti has reached critical levels, with nearly half the population requiring aid, 2 million facing emergency food insecurity, and 6,000 on the brink of starvation.

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