UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk expressed today that the human rights emergency in Haiti has deteriorated to an unprecedented level, with gangs expanding their influence beyond Port-au-Prince into the country’s central regions, committing acts of violence including killings, rapes, and kidnappings. Currently, a UN Human Rights statement indicates that a record 1.3 million individuals are displaced due to ongoing violence.
According to verified data from the UN Human Rights Office, between January 1 and May 30, 2025, at least 2,680 people lost their lives, including 54 children. Additionally, over 957 individuals were injured, and 316 have been kidnapped for ransom. Incidents of sexual violence carried out by gangs and the recruitment of children into armed groups are also on the rise.
“Alarming as they are, numbers cannot express the horrors Haitians are being forced to endure on a daily basis,” stated Türk. “I am horrified by the ever-increasing spread of gang attacks and other human rights abuses beyond the capital, and deeply concerned by their destabilising impact on other countries in the region.”
“Although law enforcement efforts are ongoing to restore security, vigilante groups and self-defense groups are taking matters into their own hands, which has only led to further human rights violations,” he added.
Since late March 2025, gangs have carried out significant assaults in Mirebalais, a central commune in Haiti, attacking police stations and private properties, and releasing over 515 inmates from the local prison., explained the release.
Meanwhile, clashes between gangs and self-defense groups have become more intense in the Bas Artibonite region, says the UN. On May 20, armed individuals killed at least 25 people and injured 10, accusing the victims of supporting gangs. Victims were murdered with machetes inside a church or in their homes, and some bodies were dragged into the streets and set on fire.
The press release states that ten days later, in the Pernier neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, six members of a single family—including four girls aged between two and 14 years—were murdered inside their home by three allied gangs. These killings appeared to be retaliatory, linked to intensified police operations, and victims were chosen at random.
It further indicated that recently, law enforcement operations targeting gangs in the capital have increased. Since the beginning of 2025, at least 1,448 people have been killed during police actions, and a minimum of 65 individuals have been summarily executed by police forces.
“Any use of lethal force by law enforcement officers should always be in accordance with human rights law, and abide by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, non-discrimination, precaution, and accountability,” Türk said.
“Those violating the law must be held to account,” he added.
He also highlighted that impunity for human rights abuses and corruption perpetuates Haiti’s longstanding, multifaceted crisis.
“It is essential that the authorities live up to their agreement to address all crimes, including sexual violence and financial crimes such as corruption. The specialized judicial task forces should be established as soon as possible,” Turk asserted.
The High Commissioner called on the international community to act decisively to end the violence.
“The coming months will be crucial and will test the international community’s ability to take stronger, more coordinated action — action that will help determine the future stability of Haiti and the wider region,” he stated.
“I call for renewed support to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which is under-resourced and under-equipped, and for the full implementation of the Security Council’s arms embargo. No more illegal weapons should be allowed to facilitate the horrors unfolding in Haiti.”
He also reiterated his appeal to all states to refrain from forcibly returning individuals to Haiti and to protect Haitian refugees from discrimination and stigmatization during this time of profound suffering and fear.