Haiti is facing a humanitarian catastrophe as gang violence intensifies, displacing over 60,000 people in just weeks and pushing the country toward collapse, a United Nations official warned Monday.

UN Special Representative María Isabel Salvador told the Security Council that Haiti is “approaching a point of no return.” February and March alone saw over 1,000 deaths and nearly 400 injuries in the Caribbean state. Aid operations are faltering, with blocked roads, suspended flights, and critical funding shortages limiting lifesaving assistance.

The current crisis is rooted in a long-standing cycle of instability, dramatically worsened by the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. His killing created a dangerous power vacuum and triggered a wave of political chaos, allowing gangs to expand their influence unchecked.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently warned that armed groups control nearly all of Port-au-Prince, with violence spilling into previously secure neighborhoods. Schools, hospitals, and basic infrastructure have been destroyed, while the healthcare system continues to disintegrate. Vulnerable populations, especially women and children, face rampant abuses, including sexual violence, forced recruitment, and kidnappings. HRW has condemned the global community’s inaction, warning that civilians are at “grave riské as only 10 percent of the capital remains under government control.

Formed in 2024, Haiti’s transitional government has struggled to contain the violence, declaring a state of emergency amid growing public anger and street protests. Self-defense groups have emerged, but are unable to resist well-armed gangs.

Earlier this month, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) urged calm, stressing the importance of the transitional council in restoring constitutional governance. The UN has also reaffirmed its commitment under Resolution 2699, which created the MSS to support Haiti’s overwhelmed police force.

The UN warned that only international cooperation, through urgent security assistance and humanitarian funding, can prevent total societal collapse.

The UN previously condemned the surge of gang violence in Haiti, describing the displacement increase as the worst in recent history, three times higher than figures recorded last year. Grégoire Goodstein, head of the UN migration agency (IOM) in Haiti, said that “[t]he scale of the crisis is unprecedented.” He stressed that “[f]amilies are being uprooted time and time again, forced to leave everything behind.”