Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Two new reports by the United Nations show that half of Haitians are facing acute hunger and over 700,000 are internally displaced – up 22 per cent since June. Haiti has long been struggling with major political, social and economic crises. It has had no functioning or elected government since 2021. Since April, the country has been run by a transitional council under prime minister Garry Conille, after the former acting prime minister resigned in response to intensifying gang violence. On Sunday, Conille travelled to the UAE and Kenya to call for more security assistance after members of the Gran Grif gang massacred at least 70 people and forced 6,000 to flee from the western town of Pont-Sonde. Haiti’s humanitarian situation has never been worse. A UN-backed security mission led by Kenya stalled because countries failed to provide the estimated $600 million required in voluntary support. It was renewed for another year by the UN security council last week, but won’t become a fully-funded peace operation because China and Russia vetoed it.
