Haiti

At least 3,661 people have been killed in Haiti since January due to rampant gang violence, “maintaining the high levels of violence seen in 2023,” the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report issued on Friday. 

Kenyan Prime Minister William Ruto has pledged to send another 600 police officers to Haiti in the coming weeks, despite concerns that their UN-approved mission to rein in rampant gangs has been largely ineffective so far.

Haiti's government on Wednesday created a provisional electoral council long sought by the international community to prepare the troubled Caribbean country for its first general elections since 2016. … The previous electoral council had been dissolved in September 2021 by former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who accused it of being "partisan."

Without more funding, the police force won’t be able to stem gang violence, and elections will likely be delayed.

More work needs to be done to bolster support for Haiti’s police force as gang violence continues to rock Haiti, said Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the UN and the newly elected president of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), who just returned from visiting Port-au-Prince.

Haiti has expanded its state of emergency to cover the entire nation's territory, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Garry Conille said on Wednesday, as the Caribbean country battles violent gangs that have taken over much of the capital and started expanding into nearby regions.

During a trip to Haiti on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $45 million in new humanitarian aid for the Caribbean nation, which has been wracked by violence for years. He also called for the renewal of the United Nations mandate for the Multinational Security Support, or MSS, mission to combat the armed gangs that dominate much of the capital.

The Kenyan-led international security force deployed to Haiti has made "significant progress" in tackling gang violence, Kenyan police said, two months after they first arrived.

The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Haiti's former president, Michel Joseph Martelly, over drug trafficking allegations, accusing him of playing a significant role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country.

Haiti's prime minister escaped unharmed Monday after gangs opened fire near a hospital he was visiting, a government source told AFP, as the troubled nation seeks to restore stability after months of gang-related violence.