(Mexico City) – Haiti’s crisis has reached catastrophic levels, with allied criminal groups intensifying large-scale, coordinated attacks on the population and key state infrastructure, nearly paralyzing much of the country and worsening the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2025.
For the 546-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists. Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, drove many from their homes, and blocked access to humanitarian aid. In many of the more than 70 national elections in 2024, authoritarian leaders gained ground with their discriminatory rhetoric and policies.
“Throughout 2024, criminal groups killed, kidnapped, and used sexual violence to control Haiti’s population, already overwhelmed by rising poverty, hunger, and lack of access to essential services,” said Nathalye Cotrino, Americas senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The appointment of a transitional government and deployment of a UN-authorized Multidimensional Security Support mission to support the Haitian National Police have yet to improve security or restore the rule of law.”
- In late February, the major criminal groups, united under the Viv Ansam (Living Together in Creole) coalition, launched coordinated attacks on major prisons, police stations, government offices, and key infrastructure such as healthcare and education facilities in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. These attacks nearly paralyzed the country and the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance for close to three months.
- Criminal groups increased their recruitment of children, taking advantage of widespread hunger and poverty. As of October, at least 30 percent of criminal group members were children. They participated in extortion, looting and severe acts of violence, including murder and kidnapping, but also faced abuse within the criminal groups. Haiti’s transitional government lacks a strategy and the resources to ensure that all children are protected, including through access to education and justice, and legal pathways out of criminal groups.
- Criminal groups’ use of sexual violence is now widespread. Between January and October, nearly 4,000 girls and women reported sexual violence, including gang rape, mostly by members of criminal groups. Survivors have little access to protection and care services due to limited institutional resources and the disruption by violence of essential services, particularly health care.
- In June, the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, led by Kenya, began operations in Haiti with about 400 officers, well below the expected 2,500. While the MSS has supported the Haitian National Police anti-crime operations and developed key human rights safeguards, the mission faces significant financial and logistical challenges.
- Criminal groups intensified coordinated attacks in October and now control around 85 percent of Port-au-Prince and its metropolitan area and have expanded their control into the Ouest and Artibonite departments. In 2024, criminal groups killed at least 5,601 people, according to the UN. Half of Haiti’s population struggles to afford food, making it one of world’s most acutely food insecure countries, and over 700,000 Haitians—25 percent of them children—are internally displaced.
The international community should urgently support a comprehensive, rights-based response to Haiti’s crisis, focused on restoring security, upholding the rule of law, and guiding the country back to democracy, while meeting people’s immediate needs. Following the transitional government’s request to transform the MSS into a UN mission, the United Nations Security Council should urgently authorize and rapidly deploy a full-fledged United Nations mission to Haiti. The Mission should be part of a broader strategy that includes human rights safeguards, monitoring mechanisms, and accountability measures to prevent past harm and address the legacy of previous interventions.