The Western Hemisphere’s poorest country has plunged into virtual anarchy, with gangs taking over the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the security and health systems collapsing.
The UN rights office (OHCHR) said in a report that about 600,000 people were displaced in the first six months of 2024 and 1,280 were injured in gang violence, including 295 women and 63 children.
In that period, at least 893 individuals, including 25 children, were kidnapped and held for ransom by criminal groups, who were vying for power in a vacuum left by a political crisis and weak state authority.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, urged the Haitian authorities and the international community to do more to protect people on the Caribbean island.
It said the gangs had changed their modus operandi this year.