Nearly 5,000 homicides were accounted for in Haiti in 2023, more than in 2022, a January 23 United Nations (U.N.) report said, as the country experiences rampant gang violence amid the collapse of many of its political institutions.
“I am appalled by the staggering and increasing level of gang violence devastating the lives of Haitians, particularly in Port-au-Prince,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
According to the report, a total of 4,789 homicides were recorded in 2023, an increase of 119.4 percent over the previous year.
“In the same vein, the number of kidnapping victims increased from 1,359 reported in 2022 to 2490 in 2023, representing an increase of 83 percent,” he said.
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Its security has been affected — primarily — by gang violence, with its political, economic and public health systems also devastated.
In October, the U.N. Security Council approved the deployment of a multinational mission to support Haiti’s overwhelmed police force, which Kenya agreed to lead.
The Kenyan parliament approved the deployment of 1,000 police officers in November, but the mission was delayed.