Leaned vulnerable, communities formed self -defense groups and Haitian security forces reinforced their operations and made small profits only to be rejected again by gangs.
And at all stages of this cycle, human rights violations are being committed against civilians, according to a report published Friday by the UN Office in Haiti (Binuh) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).
“In the midst of this endless horror story are the Haitian people, at the mercy of the horrible violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations of security forces and abuses for the so -called” defense groups, “said Volker Türk, High Commissioner of Human Rights.
The report also warned about the “first signs of criminal government” in the department of the center where gangs are beginning to consolidate their profits and act as a de facto government authority.
Four years of horror
Since 2021 and the murder of President Jovenel Moïse, the violence of the gangs has dominated Prince Port-Au Capital, which is now controlled 85 percent by gangs, says the UN.
More than 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced due to this violence, representing the greatest displacement due to political agitation in Haitia’s history.
The food insecurity among displaced Haitians is rampant, with Haiti one of the five countries worldwide, which is experiencing hunger conditions.
As of March 2025, violence has also expanded to previously intact areas of the country, specifically the departments of Artibonita and center where 92,000 and 147,000 people have been displaced respectively.
The report also pointed out that recently, gangs have begun to expand beyond the center of Haiti to the border of the Dominican Republic, with the apparent objective of controlling key roads through which much of illegal weapons traffic is happening.
“The expansion of territorial control of gangs presents an important risk of spreading violence and Increased transnational traffic in arms and people“Ravina Shamdasani, UNHCR spokesman in an informative session in Geneva said.
Human Rights in danger
Between October 2024 and June 2025, 4,864 people in Haiti have been killed by gang violence. At least hundreds have been injured, kidnapped, raped and trafficked.
“Human rights abuses outside the prince port are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited,” said Ulrika Richardson, interim chief of Binuh and UN residents coordinator.
Although many of these human rights violations, including the denial of the right to life and physical integrity, sexual violence and forced displacement, are being perpetrated by organized gangs, there are also documented human rights abuses at the hands of the Haitian authorities.
Specifically, between October 2024 and June 2025, there were 19 extrajudicial executions of security forces in the departments of Artibonita and Centro, 17 of them in Artibonite.
Self -defense groups, which are increasingly frequent as a result of inadequate state security, have also committed human rights violations, often in the form of lynchings of alleged gang members.
“The violations and abuses of human rights that we have documented are additional evidence of why Haiti and the international community urgently need to intensify violence,” Türk said.
At this point, there have been no documented human rights abuse committed by the multinational security support mission (MSS) authorized by the United Nations and financed and with personnel largely by Kenya.
Without responsibility
The National Police of Haiti and MSS have launched multiple operations to recover the lost territory for gangs. While some have had a brief success, operations have not been able to maintain a lasting presence or protect local communities, according to the report.
In fact, the report suggests that in the center, the situation is in a trend in the opposite direction with gangs that consolidate territorial profits outside the capital and begin to institute forms of criminal government.
As a result of this persistent insecurity, judicial operations are virtually paralyzed in the departments of the center and artibonite.
“The international community must strengthen their support for the authorities, which have the main responsibility to protect the Haitian population,” said Mrs. Richardson.