Populations in Haiti are facing possible atrocity crimes due to widespread violence and abuses by armed gangs

BACKGROUND:

Since the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, violence has intensified in Haiti, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs have rapidly proliferated and are perpetrating widespread abuses in a climate of total impunity. Approximately 300 criminal groups are active in Haiti, and the UN estimates that 2.7 million Haitians, including 1.6 million women and children, live in areas under gang control. Throughout 2023 several UN officials warned that insecurity in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area reached levels comparable to countries in armed conflict amid deadly violence and intense turf wars between two of the largest gang coalitions, G9 and Gpèp. There has also been a significant rise in gang violence in Artibonite, a department in central Haiti, where populations face near-daily attacks and abuses.

Populations are often confined to their neighborhood and face killings, disappearances, torture and indiscriminate sniper attacks. Gangs launch frequent attacks on schools, medical facilities and humanitarian organizations. The Human Rights Service of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) has documented the forcible recruitment of children, with gangs establishing checkpoints around schools. Several top UN officials and experts have reported that gangs are using systematic sexual violence, including collective rape and mutilation, as a means of exerting territorial control and to terrorize and inflict pain on communities. The UN Security Council (UNSC)-mandated Panel of Experts observed that the use of sexual violence is a systematic and pervasive tactic and not the result of isolated incidents. The UN documented a tenfold increase in sexual violence against children during 2024 compared to 2023.

In response to escalating violence and the inability of the Haitian National Police (HNP) to protect communities, a civilian self-defense movement – known as “Bwa Kale” – emerged in April 2023. Hundreds of alleged gang members have subsequently been killed and BINUH has documented cases of summary executions and lynchings of children. Meanwhile, in late February 2024 G9 and Gpèp joined forces (known as Viv Ansanm) and launched a coordinated offensive targeting critical civilian infrastructure across Port-au-Prince. As clashes between the rival groups decreased, gangs have expanded the use of sexual violence and increasingly targeted civilians.

Insecurity has compounded an existing humanitarian crisis, with 5.4 million Haitians facing acute food insecurity. Nearly 703,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to gang violence and insecurity, with the number of internally displaced persons doubling between 2022 and 2023. A UN Women Rapid Gender Assessment found that aggression against women and girls, particularly rape, is being used in most makeshift camps as a deliberate tactic to control access to scarce humanitarian assistance.

The grave security situation has been exacerbated by protracted political deadlock, as well as a dysfunctional judiciary and the lack of legitimate executive or legislative bodies, in the last several years. In April 2024 a Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) was installed and made responsible for preparing a roadmap toward elections – the first elections since 2016 – among other tasks. The TPC has been embroiled in a corruption scandal and political infighting, further eroding public trust in the government.

In response to the multidimensional crisis, in October 2022 the UNSC established a sanctions regime and arms embargo. In September 2024 the UNSC sanctioned a leader of the Gran Grif gang – one of the largest and most powerful gangs in Artibonite – as well as a former parliamentarian, the first member of the Haitian elite to be sanctioned by the UN for allegedly forming, supporting and arming the group.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

A September report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) details grave patterns of human rights violations and abuses across Port-au-Prince and in Artibonite – as well as in the southern part of the West Department, which had been unaffected by violence until recently. Violations and abuses include indiscriminate violence, rape, torture, kidnappings, forced recruitment, exploitation and trafficking of children and the burning and looting of civilian infrastructure. According to OHCHR, nearly 4,900 people were killed between January and September, surpassing the number of people killed during all of 2023. After residents warned of an imminent attack, Gran Grif carried out one of the largest assaults in decades during October, killing 115 civilians and injuring over 350 others in Pont-Sondé, Artibonite. Since then the Viv Ansanm coalition has resumed offensives in and around the capital, leading to new waves of escalating violence. During November violence displaced 41,000 people in two weeks alone, and some international aid organizations were forced to suspend their operations.

The first contingent of Kenyan police to lead the UNSC-authorized Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) arrived in June and July. Prior to the deployment, gangs trafficked and recruited more children and increased the number of children carrying weapons, in anticipation of MSS operations. Gang leaders are also using civilians as human shields, including installing women and children at the entrances of gang zones to serve as a protective buffer. Ongoing and escalating waves of gang violence have prompted calls for a robust UN peacekeeping operation.

ANALYSIS:

Populations living in gang-controlled territory are at heightened risk of grave and widespread human rights abuses, including killings, kidnappings and sexual violence, which may amount to crimes against humanity. The emergence of self-defense movements has resulted in a rise in mob killings and indiscriminate lynching.

There have been numerous challenges delaying the full deployment of the MSS. Gang strongholds are in densely populated areas in and around the capital, heightening risks to civilians should the rules of engagement of the MSS allow for offensive operations.

Insecurity leaves many without access to any public services, exacerbating existing inequalities which fuel patterns of exclusion – a driver of violence and recruitment. As gangs expand their control over strategic resources and key transport routes, they not only hinder freedom of movement but have also become more economically autonomous and powerful. Kidnappings and associated requests for ransom are a vital source of income for gangs to carry out operations and purchase weapons. Increased pressure on land and extortion by gangs on farmers, markets and traders leave them vulnerable and endanger people’s livelihoods.

The prevalence and spread of gang violence is also fueled by long-standing close ties between gangs and elites, as well as the power vacuum created since the assassination of former President Moïse. For decades, police, politicians and other elites utilized gangs to enforce their authority and provided them with funds, weapons and impunity for abuses.

RISK ASSESSMENT:

• • Proliferation and flow of illicit arms and ammunition, fueling violence and providing the means for perpetrating abuses.
  • Grave acts of violence, including forcible recruitment of children, as well as systematic sexual violence, particularly against women and girls.
  • Political instability, weak state institutions and under resourced and outnumbered police force.
  • Near-complete impunity for violence against civilians, emboldening gang members to perpetrate further abuses.
  • Lack of attention and security presence in Artibonite, allowing gangs to strengthen outside of the capital and leaving communities vulnerable to extortion, kidnapping and attacks.

NECESSARY ACTION:

The international community, particularly the United States, must impose stricter measures to prevent the illicit supply, sale, diversion or transfer of small arms, light weapons and ammunitions into Haiti. Those responsible for serious abuses, as well as those providing support to and financing gangs, should be investigated and prosecuted in line with international human rights standards. The UNSC should update the list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions for supporting, preparing, ordering or committing violations or abuses of International Human Rights Law (IHRL), in line with Resolution 2653. The HNP must vet all its members and remove from service any officers who have colluded with gangs or the Bwa Kale movement.

In cooperation with BINUH, OHCHR and Haitian human rights groups, the MSS must implement a robust human rights compliance framework and due diligence policy mechanism. The MSS must strictly adhere to UN protocols on the prohibition of sexual exploitation and abuse.

States in the region must end the collective expulsions and forced returns of Haitians and uphold their obligations under IHRL and international refugee law.