Haiti - March 2024

Pressured by the escalating security crisis, Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced on 12 March that he will resign upon the establishment of a transitional council. A state of emergency was declared on 3 March, following a prison break involving 4,700 inmates. Gang violence, which has killed over 1,550 this year, spiraled after Henry traveled to Kenya in February to finalize a multinational security force agreement (which has since been postponed). The escalation of violence followed an offensive by gang coalitions which targeted police, government offices and the airport, among other key objectives, preventing Henry’s return. Since the beginning of March, more than 53,000 have fled the capital, basic services in the country have shut down, as schools and hospitals have been targeted by gangs. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) fears that 1.4 million Haitians are on the brink of famine.  Thousands have fled to the heavily guarded border of the Dominican Republic and in March alone, 13,000 Haitian migrants were forcibly repatriated.  

On 12 April, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-backed transitional council, which will choose the new prime minister, was established. 

Sources: EL Pais,  Caribbean Life, Le Nouvelliste, International Organization for Migration, Amnesty, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, International IDEA