Violence between Haitian gangs results in approximately 2,300 fatalities, according to United Nations reports.

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Gang violence has killed at least 2,300 people in Haiti this year, while nearly 100 have been kidnapped, the United Nations said on Monday.

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UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, called on the authorities to tackle the rampant impunity in the crisis-ravaged Caribbean nation of 12 million people.

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Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has for years been plagued by instability as powerful gangs carry out rampant killings, rapes, looting and kidnappings.

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“In Haiti, gang violence has resulted in at least 2,300 deaths, 1,100 injuries and 99 kidnappings since the start of the year,” said Turk.

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“I urge the authorities to move quickly on the judicial units to tackle impunity.

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“The Gang Suppression Force (GSF) is urgently needed and needs to operate in line with international human rights law,” the UN high commissioner for human rights said.

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The UN Security Council last year gave its approval to the new international GSF tasked with neutralising the gangs.

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The force will gradually replace the previous Multinational Mission to Support the Haitian Police (MMAS).

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The council green-lit the GSF at the United States’ urging last September amid concerns that the MMAS was under-equipped and under-funded.

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An initial deployment plan has been approved, adhering to the ceiling of 5,500 troops and police officers authorised by the Security Council, with deployments set to take place in phases.

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Turk was giving his global update at the opening of the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.

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The 47-country council meets for three regular sessions a year in Geneva, with the current session, which lasts until July 7, being the second of 2026.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Haiti on Tuesday to show solidarity with victims of gang violence, his spokesman Farhan Haq said last week.

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This will be “a solidarity visit, during which he will meet men, women and children whose lives have been affected by violence”, Haq told reporters.

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AFP

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