UNSC renews Haiti sanctions

• The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that renews sanctions in Haiti for another year as armed gangs continue to terrorise the population. 

• The island nation is mired in a complex humanitarian crisis, driven primarily by rampant violence by armed criminal gangs, against a backdrop of severe disasters and economic crisis.

• The sanctions regime was established in 2022 and includes a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo.

• Panama and the United States drafted the resolution, which also renews the mandate of the panel of experts that supports the sanctions committee.

• So far, results of efforts to quell the violence have been mixed as gangs continue to be provided with heavy weapons and ammunition coming from abroad.

• Effective implementation of the arms embargo is crucial in efforts to once and for all remove the fuel that is firing this conflict.

• It comes just weeks after the UNSC authorised a Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti to replace the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) that has been backing the national police in their efforts to combat the violence.

• With a 12-month mandate, the 5,550-strong force will work alongside Haitian authorities to neutralise gangs, secure infrastructure, and support humanitarian access.

• Its main aim is to protect vulnerable populations from escalating violence and prevent the displacement that inevitably causes.

• Haiti is facing an acute security crisis as rival gangs fight for control of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas while terrorising local communities through extortion, sexual violence, kidnap for ransom and murder.  

• Haiti cannot tackle its gang crisis alone due to the collapse of state institutions, under-resourced police, and overwhelming violence.

• Gangs are establishing criminal governance, exploiting children, and trafficking arms as well as drugs.

Crisis in Haiti

• The Caribbean country remains in the grip of a deepening multidimensional crisis affecting the political, security, human rights and humanitarian spheres, with implications for the region.

• Armed gangs control large swathes of the territory, more than six million people are in urgent need of assistance, and 1.4 million have fled their homes, mainly women and children.

• Killings and abductions are rampant, while cases of sexual and gender-based violence have significantly increased.

• Since March 2025, the violence has expanded into previously untouched areas of the country outside the capital, specifically the Artibonite and Centre Departments where 92,000 and 147,000 people have been displaced respectively.

• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have screened more than 217,000 children for acute malnutrition in 2025. 

• Some 21,500 boys and girls have been admitted for acute malnutrition treatment, representing a mere 17 per cent of the 129,000 children who are projected to need lifesaving services this year.  

• This malnutrition stems from severe food insecurity across the country. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that an estimated 5.7 million people – more than half of Haiti’s population – faced high levels of acute food insecurity between March and June this year.  

• Haiti's children also face an education emergency. More than 1,600 schools remain closed in Haiti, an increase of over two thirds compared to the start of the year.  

• In 2023, the UNSC authorised the deployment of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti to help its national police quell surging gang violence. 

• In September 2025, the UNSC authorised a new multinational Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti to replace the Kenyan-led MSS.