Haiti’s destiny is ‘bright’ despite terrifying escalation of violence

Haiti is facing a multi-faceted crisis, including increased gang violence, political instability, the displacement of more than 700,000 people, and widespread hunger.

UNICEF reported a sharp increase in the recruitment of minors by armed gangs, with the number of children being recruited increased by 70% in the last year.

Ulrika Richardson, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Haititalked to UN news about what united nations do to support the Haitian people.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity

UN News: How would you describe the current situation in the country?

Ulrika Richardson: There has been a terrifying escalation of violence in parts of Haiti that is tearing at the very fabric of society. There were terrible massacres in the last three months of the year both in the capital Port-au-Prince, but also near l’Artibonite.

These brutal acts of dehumanization will only deepen the collective trauma of the Haitian people.

We cannot ignore this reality. We must focus 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.

We need to protect people who are currently in extremely vulnerable situations, especially in Port-au-Prince, where the security forces simply do not have the capacity to protect citizens.

This means supporting hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.

Families have been displaced from their homes, often multiple times, so we begin to imagine the extent of the hurt they are carrying and we need to ensure they live in decent conditions.

So, at this momentsecurity is a prerequisite before addressing humanitarian challenges and then looking at sustainable recovery.

UN News: It seems like for every step you took, there were two steps back. The deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission appears to have stalled.

Ulrika Richardson: Of course, we hope that the situation will improve. We will never give up hope and are working closely with government, transition authorities, civil society and the private sector to make 2025 a better year than 2024.

Despite Kenya’s strong leadership with the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), which we truly applaud, the mission is still in a pre-deployment phase due to lack of sufficient funding from the international community. We have received important contributions, but they are very limited, so much more is needed.

Additional support is on the way. I just heard that the MSS (mission) will be getting more uniformed personnel and equipment. This move underscores the continued commitment to improving security in the country, an essential step in advancing both humanitarian and development efforts in Haiti.

How important is security to political stability?

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

Security is essential to creating an environment where citizens can and want to vote. But there must be a redoubled effort by UN member states on all fronts today, not tomorrow, when it will be too late.

Haiti’s destiny is as bright as any other country. It must regain its place in the world as a symbol of hope, independence and freedom. There were many mistakes, but we have to learn from yesterday and see how we can improve things.

UN News: Could you expand on these mistakes?

Ulrika Richardson: If you look at the economic incentives, why haven’t they invested in the productive capabilities of the country? At the moment, the insecurity has discouraged foreign investors because they need to have some kind of guarantee of stability.

However, after the 2010 earthquake, there was a lot of investment, hardly seen before for a country of such size. But how much has been invested back into strengthening Haitian institutions?

Equally important is ensuring that Haitians lead the process. I speak as a non-Haitian, but as the UN in Haiti and recognizing Haiti’s historic role as a founding member state of the UN. So our commitment is guided by deep respect for Haitian leadership and the vision of its people.

UN News: Talking about the future, the first thing that comes to my mind is youth.

And Haiti’s youth are at the center of discussions about development and security. What step do you think is essential in the coming year to empower them and prevent their recruitment into armed gangs?

Opportunities. They must have alternatives. We have and must continue to work on what those alternatives are. We want youth and children to be able to transition to community members.

Some young people are forced to join gangs, and there is an explanation for this.

If you can’t leave the capital because finding a job elsewhere means risking your life on gang-controlled roads and there are no job opportunities where you live, your parents might have been killed and education isn’t an option , what do we expect them to do?

Many children as young as eight are now being recruited by gangs to run errands, to be their informants.

Unfortunately, arms trafficking continues to take place 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, there are human resources there and a lot of creativity and desire to create something better for the country than in the past.