UN urges immediate support for Kenyan police in Haiti as gangs overrun capital

Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for the Americas at the UN Department of Political Affairs, told the Security Council that security forces are struggling to contain escalating violence across the country.

“The capital city was for all intents and purposes, paralysed by gangs and isolated due to the ongoing suspension of international commercial flights into the international airport,” Jenča said. He added that armed groups now influence all communes in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and beyond, further entrenching their power.

According to the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), more than 4,000 deliberate killings have been recorded since January 2025, underscoring the severity of the crisis. “Without increased action by the international community, the complete collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario,” Jenča cautioned, urging the Organisation of American States to adopt a resolution on Haiti and support CARICOM’s efforts to restore the rule of law. “We must not fail Haiti at this critical moment,” he stressed.

In response to the deteriorating situation, Kenya led the UN-backed Multinational Security Support mission, having deployed its first contingent in June 2024. However, Kenya’s delegate reported that as of June 25, deployments had reached 991 personnel, yet still well below the 2,500 planned, the Kenyan Times reports.

Ghada Fathi Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, noted concerns, warning that an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince is now under criminal control. “As gang control expands, the state’s capacity to govern is rapidly shrinking, with social, economic, and security implications,” Waly said during a briefing from Vienna.

She explained that armed groups have started creating parallel governance structures and offering basic services. “This erosion of state legitimacy has cascading effects, with legal commerce becoming paralysed as gangs control major trade routes, worsening existing food insecurity and humanitarian crises,” Waly said. She also noted that rising demand for guns and military-grade weapons is fuelling illicit arms markets and increasing the risk of legal weapons being diverted to criminal elements.