Overview:
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Haiti on June 16 to express solidarity with a population enduring years of gang violence, meeting with affected residents and reviewing UN support for the incoming Gang Suppression Force. The visit came as UN officials reported at least 2,300 deaths from gang violence this year and as Human Rights Watch urged Guterres to push for broader protections, accountability and disengagement pathways for those caught up in criminal groups, including children.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to visit Haiti on Tuesday in what his office described as a “solidarity” mission, meeting with Haitians whose lives have been upended by gang violence, AFP reported.
It will be Guterres’ first trip to Port-au-Prince since July 2023. According to his spokesman, Farhan Haq, the UN chief will assess humanitarian and security conditions firsthand and review UN support for the new Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which is replacing the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission criticized as under-resourced. Guterres is also expected to meet with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime.
Nearly 1.5 million people are displaced nationwide and more than 5 million face severe food insecurity, according to UN figures. The UN’s $880 million humanitarian appeal for 2026 is less than a quarter funded as hurricane season begins, AFP reported.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said Monday that gang violence has killed at least 2,300 people, injured 1,100 and led to 99 kidnappings since the start of the year, calling the new force “urgently needed” and pressing authorities to move faster on judicial accountability. A separate UN report found gang-related violence claimed more than 5,500 lives between March 1, 2025, and Jan. 15, 2026, with most deaths occurring during anti-gang operations.
Ahead of the visit, Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to Guterres urging him to press for a broader response beyond security measures alone. The organization said criminal groups have expanded into Haiti’s South-East department this year and are now active in five of the country’s 10 departments, with children making up an estimated half of their membership.
HRW also raised concerns about a rise in killings during security operations, including summary killings by police, and about drone strikes by security forces and private contractors that the group said have killed or injured more than 1,200 people, including 17 children.
The rights group called on Guterres to push for safeguards on the new force’s use of force, stronger oversight and accountability mechanisms, and expanded support for survivors of sexual violence and children formerly tied to gangs.
