For the first time since 2023, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited Haiti on June 16 in what was described as a “solidarity visit,” amidst surging gang activity and growing numbers of desperate displaced Haitians. Gang violence has displaced 1.5 million Haitians, killed 2,300 this year and wounded 1,100. Almost 1.6 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Guterres also had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime in talks that were described as “frank.”
Guterres’ message was that “hope is on the way” in Haiti, the Miami Herald reported him saying, but in a visit to one of the squalid camps for the displaced scattered throughout Port-au-Prince, Guterres had to tell a group gathered around him that foreign governments have only donated 20% of the funds the UN needs for humanitarian assistance to the country this year. He asked for forgiveness when people told him they were “near the breaking point” and “can’t take it anymore.” In a press conference during his visit transmitted live on UN-TV, Guterres told the international community to “step up” and take responsibility for Haiti. He said its indifference, which he called “a disgrace,” has contributed to Haiti’s worsening security situation.
