Senior UN Official Says Haiti’s Destiny is "Bright" Despite Terrifying Escalation of Violence

UNITED NATIONS – A senior United Nations official on Friday said Haiti’s destiny is “bright”, despite the terrifying escalation of violence.

Ulrika Richardson, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, said that offering Haiti’s young people alternatives to gang life and strengthening local institutions are key for the French-speaking Caribbean nation to “reclaim its position as a symbol of hope.”

The UN said Haiti is faced with a multifaceted crisis, including rising gang violence, political instability, the displacement of over 700,000 people, as well as widespread hunger.

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has reported a sharp increase in the recruitment of minors by armed gangs, with the number of child recruits rising by 70 per cent in the past year.

“There has been a terrifying escalation of violence in certain parts of Haiti, which is tearing at the very fabric of society,” Richardson said. “There have been horrific massacres in the last three months of the year both in the capital Port-au-Prince, but also in near-by l’Artibonite.

“These brutal acts of dehumanization will only deepen the collective trauma of the Haitian people,” she added. “We cannot ignore this reality. We must center these horrific events in our response, urgently expanding mental health and psychosocial support programs, and integrating them into our long-term plan for stability.

“As the UN, we are committed to staying in Haiti to help the most vulnerable people through the current crisis,” Richardson continued. “We need to protect people currently in extremely vulnerable situations, particularly in Port-au-Prince, where security forces simply do not have the capacity to protect citizens.

“This means supporting the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people,” she said.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator noted families have fled their homes, often multiple times.

“So, we can start to imagine the magnitude of the wound they carry, and we must ensure they live in decent conditions,” she said. “So, at the moment, security is a prerequisite before addressing humanitarian challenges and then looking at a durable recovery.”

Richardson said the UN is not giving up hope in Haiti.

“Of course, we are hoping that the situation improves,” she said. “We will never give up hope, and are working closely with the government, transitional authorities, civil society, and the private sector to make 2025 a better year than 2024.”

Despite strong leadership from Kenya with the non-UN multinational security support mission (MSS), which the UN “really” applauds, Richardson said the mission is still in a pre-deployment phase “because of a lack of sufficient funding from the international community.”

“We have received important contributions, but they are very limited, so much more is needed,” she said, disclosing that additional support is on the way.

“We have just heard that the MSS [mission] will receive more uniformed personnel and equipment,” she added. “This move underscores the continued commitment to enhancing security in the country, a critical step toward advancing both humanitarian and development efforts in Haiti.”

Richardson said the Haitian government is committed to its ambitious electoral agenda, including constitutional reform, which requires investment in economic recovery and social peace.

She said while security is essential to creating an environment where citizens can and want to vote, “there needs to be a doubling of efforts from UN Member-States on all fronts today, not tomorrow, when it’s too late.

“Haiti’s destiny is as bright as any other country,” the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator declared. “It needs to reclaim its position in the world as a symbol of hope, independence and freedom.

“There have been a lot of mistakes, but we need to learn from yesterday and see how we can improve things,” she added. “If you look at economic incentives, why hasn’t there been investment into productive capacities of the country? Right now, insecurity has discouraged foreign investors because they need to have some type of guarantee of stability.

“However, after the 2010 earthquake, there were a lot of investments, hardly seen anywhere before for a country of that size,” she continued. “But how much of that was invested back into strengthening Haitian institutions? Equally important is ensuring that Haitians lead this process. I speak as someone who is not Haitian but as the UN in Haiti and recognizing Haiti’s historic role as a founding UN Member State.

“So, our engagement is guided by deep respect for Haitian leadership and the vision of its people,” she said. “And youth in Haiti is at the center of discussions around development and security. They need to have alternatives. We have, and need to continue to work on what these alternatives are. We want young people and children to be able to transition into being members of the community.”

Richardson said some young people are coerced into joining gangs, stating that “there is an explanation for this.

“If you can’t leave the capital because finding a job somewhere else means that you risk your life on gang-controlled roads and there is no job opportunity where you live, your parents may have been killed, and education is not an option, what do we expect them to do?” she asked.

“Many children from the age of eight are currently recruited by gangs to run errands, to be their informers,” she said. “Unfortunately, arms trafficking continues to happen, despite the sanctions regime. We need to have a process in place and a much better response rate from neighboring actors.

“This is not impossible,” Richardson added. “There are human resources out there, and a lot of creativity and desire to create something better for the country than in the past.”