The number of criminal occurrences has more than doubled since last year, according to Maria Isabel Salvador, head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), and there has been a "alarming" increase in violence. In the first quarter of 2023, 1,674 killings, rapes, kidnappings, and lynchings were reported, up from 692 such crimes in the same period the previous year.
Even in neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince and outside the city that were formerly thought to be relatively safe, gang violence is spreading at an alarming rate. By denying inhabitants of gang-controlled regions access to essential supplies, this violence is preventing access to healthcare facilities, forcing the closure of schools and clinics, and escalating the already severe food insecurity.
Furthermore, because of the essentially nonexistent political system, it has been impossible to stop the attacks owing to the violence.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who former President Jovenel Moise appointed to the position just days before he was assassinated, is currently Haiti's de facto leader. Attempts to create a political transition for Haiti have been unsuccessful. Due to "deaths, dismissals, and increased resignations" among officers, the Haitian National Police (HNP) is "severely understaffed and ill-equipped" to deal with the violence.
According to Salvador, Port-au-Prince's degree of insecurity has "reached levels comparable to countries in armed conflict." To confront the rapidly deteriorating security situation, she urged immediate international assistance for the police.
The United Nations and the US support Henry's request from last October for assistance in creating a "specialized armed force" to stop the bloodshed in Haiti. However, a significant portion of Haiti's civil society leaders have opposed the idea of outside involvement, arguing that history has shown that outside forces only bring "more problems than solutions."
No government has agreed to lead a mission like this, thus efforts to establish an international military force have stagnated. Instead, the US and several of its allies, particularly Canada, have concentrated on supplying the Haitian National Police with tools and training while also taking action against those who are suspected of promoting and benefitting from the unrest.
