Haiti: Options for Improving Human Rights and Security

Announcement

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a briefing on the current human rights situation in Haiti, and prospects for achieving improvements in security, human rights practices, and democratic governance.  

Haiti’s already dire security and humanitarian crisis has escalated even further over the past year, since a siege of the capital Port-au-Prince by criminal gangs inflicted devastating violence on the country.  In 2024, at least 5,601 people were killed by gang violence according to UN estimates, and there are now more than one million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the highest number of IDPs due to criminal violence in the world. 

In the face of this crisis, internationally supported solutions have not met expectations.  The Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) that took power in April 2024 has been plagued by infighting and accusations of corruption against four of its members that have eroded trust.  The Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), which has tried to aid the Haitian National Police in improving security, had approximately 1,000 personnel as of March 2025, and has remained underfunded and understaffed in its ability to meaningfully constrain gang violence. With the UN Secretary-General signaling a reluctance to push for a larger UN peacekeeping mission, and with U.S. funding uncertain, different models are needed.  These could include investing in better border security technology and reducing the supply of weapons coming into Haiti, sanctioning corrupt officials tied to the gangs, and supporting Haitian-led efforts to increase accountability and reduce impunity, among other options.     

Panelists representing human rights and civil society groups focused on Haiti will discuss key actions that Haitians can lead to improve human rights, security, and democratic participation in the country, and ways that international efforts and the U.S. Congress can strengthen and support these efforts.

The briefing will be virtual via Zoom. To attend, please register here. After the briefing concludes, a recording will be made available on the Commission website. For any questions, please contact Jeff Pugh (for Co-Chair McGovern) or Mark Milosch (for Co-Chair Smith).

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