Gangs in Haiti could overrun the capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to a complete breakdown of government authority without additional international support for the beleaguered national police, the United Nations chief has warned.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report released to coincide with a Security Council meeting on the deteriorating situation in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country that "time is of the essence".
Further delays in providing the police with additional officers for the multinational force trying to curb gang violence or additional assistance "carry the risk of a catastrophic collapse of national security institutions", Guterres said.
"This could allow the gangs to overrun the entire metropolitan area, resulting in a complete breakdown of state authority and rendering international operations, including those to support communities in need, in the country untenable," Guterres said.
He told the Security Council: "We must urgently do everything in our power to prevent such an outcome." Kenya is leading the multinational police force, and 217 additional officers arrived over the weekend, bringing its total deployment to more than 600, below the 1,000 officers the country's president pledged. An additional 150 Guatemalans and an advance team of eight Salvadorean troops have also arrived, but the force remains far below its anticipated strength of 2,500 officers.
The power of gangs in Haiti has grown since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
More than 5,600 people were reported killed across Haiti last year, according to the United Nations. The number of killings increased by more than 20 per cent compared to all of 2023, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Maria Isabel Salvador, the UN special envoy for Haiti, told the Security Council that gang violence has forced more than 1 million Haitians to flee their homes, with many crowding into makeshift and unsanitary shelters after gunmen razed their homes.
The humanitarian crisis in Haiti has reached "alarming levels", with nearly 2 million people facing emergency levels of food insecurity and 6,000 in catastrophic conditions facing starvation.
Haiti's leaders have asked for a UN peacekeeping force to replace the multinational force, and the permanent council of the Organization of American States, the United States and dozens of other nations have supported the request.
The multinational force is funded by a trust fund, which has only USD 101.1 million in pledges, while a UN force would be funded from the UN peacekeeping budget.
Guterres is preparing options for the UN's future role in Haiti.
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