Haiti: Open Briefing
Tomorrow morning (28 August), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing on Haiti. The meeting was requested by Panama and the US, the co-penholders on the file. The expected briefers are Secretary-General António Guterres, Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell, and a civil society representative.
Guterres is expected to brief on humanitarian, security, and political issues in Haiti. He is likely to highlight the devastating impact of violence perpetrated by armed gangs. In a 12 August press briefing, the outgoing UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, described the situation in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, as “strikingly horrific”. She said that over 1.3 million people are internally displaced as a result of gang violence, half of them children, and approximately 3,000 people have been killed in gang-related incidents since the beginning of the year.
The use of sexual violence as a tactic to establish dominance and punish communities remains a serious concern. In 2024, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) verified cases of sexual violence affecting 523 girls, 142 women, and 43 boys, while humanitarian service providers recorded 3,598 cases of gender-based violence.
Guterres and several other speakers are likely to address the concerning food security situation in the country, where acute food insecurity is driven by escalating armed gang violence, protracted economic decline, and elevated food inflation. Haiti is one of five “hotspots of highest concern” identified in a recent joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) which provides early warning for hotspots where acute food insecurity is likely to worsen in the period from June to October. According to the report, “hotspots of highest concern” are areas where populations are in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 5 (catastrophe) as well as hotspots at risk of deterioration towards catastrophic conditions; that is, where people in IPC Phase 4 (emergency) face “worsening drivers and access constraints that could lead to an escalation in food insecurity”. The report says that in Haiti—where pockets of the population are already in IPC Phase 5—critical levels of acute food insecurity are likely to worsen in the outlook period.
Tomorrow, Guterres is likely to urge the international community to do more to support the humanitarian response in Haiti. Despite the deteriorating situation, the humanitarian response has remained severely underfunded, with only 11.5 percent of the 2025 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti having been funded as at 27 August.
Russell is expected to brief on the alarming situation of children in the country. According to the Secretary-General’s most recent annual report on children and armed conflict, dated 17 June, 2,269 grave violations were committed in 2024 against 1,373 children in Haiti. (The six grave violations, as determined by the Security Council, are: child recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abductions, and the denial of humanitarian access.)
In light of the scale of the violations, the Secretary-General added the Viv Ansanm gang coalition (“living together” in Haitian Creole) to the annexes of his report, which list parties that have committed grave violations against children. Viv Ansanm was listed for the recruitment and use and the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, and attacks on schools and hospitals. This marked the first time that the Secretary-General listed an actor from Haiti in his annual report on children and armed conflict.
Tomorrow, Russell is likely to draw the Council’s attention to the surge in grave violations in Haiti, particularly cases of recruitment and use of children and sexual violence—including gang rape. With approximately half of the gang members estimated to be under 18 years of age, several speakers—including the civil society briefer—are expected to highlight the importance of demobilisation and reintegration efforts, including in the framework of the handover protocol agreement signed in 2024 between the UN and Haitian authorities, and may call for appropriate funding for such processes.
Russell may also describe how the increasing insecurity facing humanitarian personnel is negatively affecting assistance to children. She may call for safe, rapid, and unimpeded access for the delivery of humanitarian aid and for urgent action to ensure protection for children and the full realisation of their rights, including their right to a peaceful childhood.
Council members are likely to condemn all violence against civilians, including the forced recruitment and use of children and the widespread use of sexual violence as a tactic to control the population, and call for accountability for these violations. Participants may also express deep concern at attacks on civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
Regarding the political situation, several speakers may take note of steps to advance the political transition in Haiti, such as the drafting of the revised constitutional text and the appointment of Laurent Saint-Cyr to the rotating presidency of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC). At the same time, some may stress that the 7 February 2026 deadline for the installation of a newly elected leadership is approaching while gangs remain in control of large areas of Port-au-Prince as well as parts of other departments, undermining the prospects for the safe holding of the elections and constitutional referendum.
Several members may call for additional support for the Haitian authorities and the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission—the authorisation of which expires on 2 October—in order to restore stability in the country.
During a 20 August meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council on Haiti, the US announced that, alongside Panama, it will “seek authorization of a UN Support Office” to “properly resource” international efforts to fight the gangs. (The establishment of a UN Support Office for the MSS mission is a key proposal of the Secretary-General’s 24 February letter containing recommendations on the UN’s role in support of Haiti. With Washington remaining the principal provider of financial support to the MSS mission, Council members have been waiting for the US to determine its position on the Secretary-General’s recommendations—which had been unclear until recently—before advancing proposals on the next steps for Haiti.)
At the 20 August OAS meeting, the US also referred to the need for “the next international force” in Haiti to be appropriately resourced, a reference that has been interpreted as indicating possible US plans to pursue a re-shaping of the MSS mission. Tomorrow, the US might describe and expand on its plans for seeking Council authorisation for the UN Support Office and the MSS mission.
Some members may take a more guarded approach and urge the Haitian authorities and the international community to focus on addressing the root causes of the crisis in the country. Several members may stress the importance of Haitian leadership and ownership of all political and security initiatives. Speakers may also stress the need to enhance and ensure the full implementation of the arms embargo and the sanctions measures imposed by the Council.
