"Madame President, Distinguished Members of the Council, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Haiti remains plagued by a mounting scale of violence due to an unprecedented surge in kidnappings, rapes and other crimes committed by armed gangs that increasingly affect the livelihoods of people and undermine humanitarian activities. I cannot overstress the severity of the situation in Haiti, where multiple protracted crises have reached a critical point.

Last year [2023], BINUH documented over 8,400 direct victims of gang violence, including people killed, injured and kidnapped, an increase of 122 per cent as compared to 2022 [...]

BINUH has continued working towards enhancing the capacity of the Haitian National Police (PNH) with a special focus on intelligence-led performance and training [...]

Madame President,

Over the past few months, the government and the international community have made commendable efforts to increase their support for the Haitian National Police. This includes a 13 percent increase in the 2023/24 state budget allocated to the PNH, as well as the supply of personal protective equipment, armored vehicles and weapons. [...]

Download the BINUH report (PDF in English) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/rapport_du_secretaire_general_de_lonu_sur_haiti_binuh_-_15_janvier_2024-EN.pdf

Subsequently, Ambassador Robert Wood, Alternate Representative of the United States for Special Political Affairs, stated in his remarks :

"[...] Colleagues, the SRSG’s report and briefing paint a sobering picture of the reality in Port-au-Prince, where the security situation continues to deteriorate. As the SRSG has reported, the murder rate nearly doubled in Haiti in 2023, and the number of kidnapping victims soared by more than 80 percent over the previous year. Gangs continue to expand their influence at an alarming rate and are expanding their operations into areas that had long been considered safe.

In addition to the alarming levels of violence, gangs continued to control access to critical infrastructure [...] As all this happens, the Haitian National Police force continues to shrink, even as new officers are rapidly trained and developed.

Haiti’s governance crisis presents an acute challenge that is directly linked to the dire security situation. The United States calls on all Haitian political actors to find consensus on a pathway to return to democracy. We continue to urge Prime Minister Henry and other political, economic, religious, and civil society actors to urgently work together to find a peaceful path toward free and fair elections through dialogue and compromise [...]"

HL/ HaitiLibre