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STORY: OHCHR / TURK HAITI SITUATION
TRT: 03:52
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 28 MARCH 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, UN Human Rights Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“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.”
3. Wide shot, UN Human Rights Council
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“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.”
5. Wide shot, UN Human Rights Council
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“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 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.”
7. Wide shot, UN Human Rights Council
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“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, which a substantial increase from 33 in 2023.”
9. Wide shot, UN Human Rights Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“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 quickly to advance the deployment of this Mission.”
11. Wide shot, UN Human Rights Council
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said today (28 Mar) that the human rights situation in Haiti has reached yet another crisis point, amid the gang violence afflicting the country.
He called for continued engagement by the authorities and the international community to find a solution.
“Gangs are spreading into what were once gang-free areas in Port-au-Prince and its outskirts and are capturing key territory and infrastructure,” Türk told the UN Human Rights Council, where he presented a report by his Office.
“Gangs have united to launch coordinated attacks, armed with powerful weapons and in some cases outnumbering and outpowering national security forces,” he said.
“Gangs are killing ordinary people, brutally punishing those who defy their rules, or are suspected of collaborating with the police or self-defense groups.”
The report 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 illicitly 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,” the High Commissioner said, calling for a “full implementation of the Security Council’s arms embargo, as well as its targeted asset freeze and travel ban”.
During the reporting period, between 1 July 2024 and 28 February 2025, 4,239 people were killed and 1,356 injured, with several mass killings documented.
The UN Human Rights Office estimates that 92 percent of the casualties resulted from the use of firearms.
Among the human rights violations and abuses documented in the report are killings, kidnappings, rape and sexual exploitation, destruction of property, and severe restrictions on access to essential services, particularly healthcare and education.
“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,” Türk said, adding: “Several victims were shot dead after being raped. Services for survivors remain extremely scarce.”
He noted that the UN Human Rights Office has also documented the forced recruitment, exploitation and trafficking of children by gangs.
“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,” the High Commissioner said.
During the reporting period, more than 2000 people were killed or injured in law enforcement operations against gangs, a 60 percent 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,” Türk added.
“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,” he said.
“I urge States to quickly advance the deployment of this Mission.”
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.
One in two Haitians - 5.5 million people – face acute food insecurity, and two million face emergency levels of hunger.
Nearly 6,000 displaced people are living in famine-like conditions.
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