Up to 500,000 illegal weapons ranging from handguns to battlefield-grade semi-automatic rifles are thought to be in the hands of gangs in Haiti, even though the Caribbean country has been under a UN arms embargo for the last three years. Haiti is facing an acute security crisis as rival gangs fight for control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas while terrorizing local communities through extortion, sexual violence, kidnap for ransom and murder.UN Member States agreed to impose an arms embargo on Haiti in 2022 – so  what has gone wrong? Here are five things you need to know.How many weapons are in Haiti?Haiti does not manufacture firearms or ammunition, but according to the latest figures released by the UN human rights office there are an estimated between 270,000 and 500,000 illegal weapons in circulation.They are not just in the hands of the many murderous gangs that control most of the capital, they’re also common among the growing number of vigilante “justice” groups which are trying to protect people and property in troubled neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince.The impact of so many weapons in a metropolitan area of around 2.6 million people is devastating. In 2024 alone, over 5,600 people were killed due to gang-related activity according to the UN.  During just five days in early December 2024, at least 207 were killed by gangs controlling the Wharf Jérémie area of the capital. Human rights violations and abuses documented by the UN have included mass killings, kidnappings for ransom, rape and sexual exploitation, destruction of property, and severe restrictions on access to essential services, particularly healthcare and education.What firearms are in circulation?It is difficult to accurately estimate the number of illegal firearms in the hands of gangs and vigilante groups, but there are indications that more sophisticated and deadly weapons are being used.  The Haitian authorities are having limited success in stopping the flow of weapons. One shipment of arms procured in Miami in the United States and intercepted in the Dominican Republic in February 2025 included a heavy Barret M82 semi-automatic rifle, sniper rifles, an Uzi submachine gun and more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition. What does the embargo say?  The arms embargo as well as travel bans and asset freezes on individuals was authorized by the UN Security Council in October 2022.Specifically targeting gangs and individuals deemed responsible for threatening Haiti’s peace and security, it calls on UN Member States to prohibit the supply, sale, or transfer of arms and related material of all types, including technical assistance, training, and financial support related to military activities.  It recognizes that the situation in Haiti poses a threat to regional peace.How is the embargo being circumvented?Well-established trafficking routes from the US, primarily from Miami – but also from New York via the Dominican Republic – continue to be exploited, often due to weak customs enforcement and corruption.Some shipments are being intercepted by US authorities before they reach Haiti.  There is also evidence of weapons being shipped from Venezuela and other South American countries.Weapons are frequently concealed within mixed cargo or declared as humanitarian or commercial goods to evade inspection.There are also growing concerns that assault rifles originally registered to private security companies operating in Haiti are ending up in the hands of gang members.What needs to be done to ensure the embargo is adhered to and how is the UN helping?The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which works on trafficking issues has said that ensuring adherence requires a “comprehensive and coordinated approach at the national, regional and international levels.”  That means equipping Haitian customs, port and border control authorities with the technical capacity to detect, interdict and investigate illicit arms shipments. Currently, there is not even one large-format scanner in all of Haiti which could efficiently identify the contents of a shipping container or truck.  Given that most weapons enter Haiti through maritime routes, improving maritime and port security – including inspections – is essential as well as working more effectively with law enforcement authorities in the countries of origin.Providing more resources along the porous border with the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, would help to stop illicit trafficking through unofficial crossings.The UN is helping to coordinate Haiti and other countries in the region to ensure compliance as well as providing technical assistance to strengthen arms tracing, customs controls and financial investigations.“Combating corruption and illicit financial flows also remains central to embargo compliance,” said UNODC.Given that Haiti manufactures neither guns nor ammunition, cutting off the supply of bullets alone would effectively end the ability of gangs to fight each other and terrorise communities.

Published on UN News  

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Nicole Flora Boni Kouassi of Côte d'Ivoire as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and Resident Coordinator in Haiti.  Ms. Boni Kouassi will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.Ms. Boni Kouassi succeeds Ingeborg Ulrika Ulfsdotter Richardson of Sweden, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service and steadfast commitment to the United Nations (UN). 
 
Ms. Boni Kouassi brings over 22 years of UN experience to this position, with extensive experience in development, peace and security, and humanitarian work.  She has been serving as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Niger since 2022, where she also assumed the role of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim between 2023-2024.  Prior to that, she held the position of UNDP Resident Representative in Burundi between 2019-2022 and served as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in 2021. 
 
Previously, she served in various leadership roles, notably as UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Djibouti and Niger, and as Senior UN Coherence Specialist in New York. 
 
Ms. Boni Kouassi holds a Doctorate in Medicine from the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, formerly known as Université de Cocody in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland, USA.   In addition to her native Baule, she is fluent in English and French.  This article first appeared in www.un.org

WFP urgently REQUIRES uS$3.9 million to maintain UNHAS operations - the only aviation support available to the humanitarian community in Haiti, for the next 3 months. This critical funding is needed to avert an im-minent risk of UNHAS closure, jeopardizing the timely delivery of aid and personnel as humanitarian needs escalate in the country.Country contextHaiti is experiencing a protracted political, security and socio-economic crisis, placing it among the most acute hunger crises in the world. With over half of the country grappling with hunger, the Global Humanitarian Overview estimates that in 2025, 6 million will need humanitarian assistance, of which 4 million will be prioritized. Surging insecurity in Haiti in 2024 led to unprecedented humanitarian needs, while also necessitating flexibility and innovation from UNHAS to continue providing essential air transport services for the humanitarian community. Increased violence associated with armed groups, mostly in the capital, led to an upsurge of people being forced to flee their homes, bringing the total number displaced people to more than 1 million by the end of 2024, more than a threefold increase in a year. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for Haiti published in September 2024, 5.4 million people in Haiti were facing acute food insecurity, of which 2 million are categorized as experiencing emergency levels of hunger. The suspension of all commercial flights serving the Port-au-Prince airport until further notice, has only intensified these issues, isolating affected populations and severely restricting access to essential services. As humanitarian needs escalate, the situation on the ground underscores the urgent requirement for immediate and robust interventions to support those most vulnerable.Why is UNHAS critical in Haiti?The current funding outlook places UNHAS at risk of imminent shutdown in Haiti, where the escalation of violence has effectively suspended all commercial air services to the Port-au-Prince airport, severely limiting the movement of humanitarian aid and personnel in a time of critical need. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) - as the only available aviation support serving Port-au-Prince - is therefore uniquely positioned to bridge this gap by providing uninterrupted access for aid organizations.UNHAS ensures rapid deployment of staff and transport of light cargo, and offers vital capacity for medical evacuations that are essential in an environment where traditional commercial options are unavailable.UNHAS operational planTo ensure continuous humanitarian access and effective emergency response in Haiti, UNHAS will maintain its current operational fleet, which comprises one fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter. These two assets are critical to sustaining operations in an environment where commercial aviation options are unavailable. Given the closure of the Port-au-Prince commercial airport, the helicopter’s ability to operate from alternative locations, such as the United Nations office-adjacent field in Juvenat, is indispensable.UNHAS Haiti Route Map   UNHAS will continue a fully operational mission to enable humanitarian efforts and access in a safe and efficient manner. A Chief Air Transport Officer will lead the mission, supported by essential operational personnel. Ancillary services will be activated to ensure seamless operations. UNHAS is planning to operate daily flights to Petion-Ville and nine additional destinations throughout Haiti. These regular airbridges will ensure vital humanitarian access to communities in need, facilitating the rapid deployment of aid workers, the transport of critical life saving supplies, and the execution of emergency medical evacuations.The flight schedule will be continuously reviewed and adjusted in response to evolving operational needs, ensuring that the service remains responsive and effective during this critical period.About UNHASUNHAS, managed by the World Food Programme, provides passenger and light cargo air transport services, enabling the humanitarian and development community to implement timely and effective responses in emergencies and protracted crises.Currently active with 21 operations globally, UNHAS plays a crucial role in ensuring timely and safe access to populations affected by hunger, conflict, insecurity, climate-related shocks, and health emergencies.Governance & business modelsUNHAS Haiti will continue to adopt a standard UNHAS governance structure. This includes a Steering Committee and a User Group Committee, both meeting regularly according to the WFP Aviation Policy in place. This structure ensures oversight and responsiveness to user needs.Flights in Haiti continue to operate under a partial cost recovery model to ensure ongoing humanitarian access, while limiting costs. Should funding challenges persist, the Steering Committee will revisit this framework and may consider adjustments to increase cost recovery, thereby enhancing long-term sustainability and offsetting a larger share of operational costs.Estimated CostsThe estimated cost to continue operating UNHAS Haiti with 1 fixed wing and 1 Helicopter for 3 months is US$3.9 million. This covers the aircraft, essential staffing, ground handling, and aviation fuel, ensuring a reliable flight schedule.Exit strategyUNHAS flights will be reduced or discontinued when reliable commercial aviation services are available to serve the humanitarian and development community and/or overland access improves.If humanitarian needs decrease, WFP will scale down operations accordingly, reallocating resources, as needed. This ensures a responsible and flexible approach to service termination. ContactsWFP Haiti Country OfficeArmando PUOTI
WFP Chief Air Transport Officer
armando.puoti@wfp.orgRaphael Guevin-Nicoloff | Head of Partnerships & Reporting
raphael.guevinnicoloff@wfp.org
WFP Headquarters ItalyFranklyn FRIMPONG | Chief WFP Aviation Service
franklyn.frimpong@wfp.orgHedley Tembeng TAH | Head of Information Management and External Relations Unit
hedley.tembeng@wfp.org  World Food ProgrammeVia Cesare Giulio Viola 68/70,
00148 Rome, Italy - T +39 06 65131
wfp.org

Years of underfunding of humanitarian aid and increasing needs have put millions of Haitians at risk of chronic vulnerability, according to a newly released UN report.Reversing the situation will require the international community and donors to increase the funding of UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) relief operations, the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, said in its latest advocacy note.Growing hunger and needsMonths of violence have led to a deterioration of Haiti’s humanitarian crisis. Displacement has tripled in the last year in Haiti as gang violence continues to rock the Caribbean-island nation, with nearly 600,000 people on the run.“The indiscriminate violence of armed groups and the near collapse of basic services have plunged Haiti into a humanitarian crisis unprecedented since 2010,” OCHA reported, referring to the devasting earthquake that struck the nation 14 years ago.Following the spiralling security situation in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and Artibonite in the north in February, the number of displaced persons has soared by 60 per cent, the report showed, using the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) data tracking matrix for Haiti.Collapsing basic servicesThe violence continues to target civilian infrastructure, with only 24 per cent of hospitals remaining operational, OCHA reported. The insecurity has also left 1.5 million children shut out of classrooms.Half of the 578,000 displaced people, desperately fleeing the capital in search of safety, had made their way south, where the vast majority are staying with already economically vulnerable host families.However, basic social services, such as education, health and water, hygiene and sanitation, already insufficient to meet the needs of the local population, have been severely strained, OCHA reported.Forced deportationsMeanwhile, forced repatriations of Haitians from countries in the region is continuing.Indeed, deportations of Haitian nationals even increased, particularly from April onwards, when incidents of violence were at their peak, OCHA reported.In the first seven months of the year, nearly 100,000 people were deported from countries in the region to Haiti, according to data from IOM.‘Wave of violence’The violent clashes between gangs and the authorities have also persisted, even as the multinational security support mission arrived in late June to help Haitian police address the ongoing crisis.“This wave of violence continues to have humanitarian consequences on the populations of the affected neighbourhoods and localities, but also in areas far from the capital which have become host lands for hundreds of thousands of people,” OCHA stated in the report.Almost 300,000 malnutrition cases have been documented, and five million people, about 50 per cent of Haiti’s population, face heightened food insecurity, according to a report earlier this year by a global monitoring group, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).Fears the crisis will spreadThere are fears that the epicentre of the current humanitarian crisis will gradually shift to an increasing number of areas previously spared by insecurity, according to OCHA.At the same time, the current hurricane season is expected to be active and could cause an additional shockwave on the daily lives of Haitians.Haiti is bracing for between four and seven major storms in the months to come. Calls to fill funding gapsAdditional financial resources are urgently needed to meet the increased needs of the Haitian population affected by this multidimensional crisis, OCHA said in its report.Without additional funds, OCHA fears that these crises will continue.Humanitarian concerns abound that food insecurity will continue to spread, hundreds of thousands of out-of-school children will face the risk of recruitment by armed groups and experience “lost years”, growing up without the skills needed for their future and survival, and that half a million vulnerable children and victims of protection incidents will be deprived of mental health services and psychosocial support, according to OCHA.“While humanitarian assistance is a lifeline for many, it is only part of the solution,” the UN agency said.“The government, political and development actors must work together to find lasting solutions to Haiti’s structural challenges,” OCHA said, echoing a call made last month by a joint UN-European Union mission to the country.Eight months into the year, Haiti’s 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan is 33 per cent funded, having received $162.5 million out of $674 million. This article first appeared in UN News.