UN: Nearly 200,000 people forcibly returned to Haiti
Nearly 200,000 people were forcibly returned to Haiti in the first eight months of 2026. Acting UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Indrika Ratwatte reported this at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Deutsche Welle English reports.
According to Ratwatte, the number of forced returns to the country this year is 10% higher than during the same period last year. Human rights advocates warn that, due to escalating gang violence, Haiti is unsafe for people to return to and lacks sufficient resources to assist deportees.
Attack near the capital
The emergency UN Security Council meeting was convened after a gang attack in Kenscoff on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The attack occurred on Sunday and killed 47 people.
The attack came several days after the first deportation flight from the United States arrived in Haiti. This followed a court case won by the administration of US President Donald Trump, resulting in thousands of Haitians being stripped of temporary protected status.
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Ratwatte said that the attack in Kenscoff was another grim reminder of Haitians' daily suffering. According to data presented at the meeting, nearly 1.5 million of Haiti's approximately 12 million residents have become internally displaced persons, half of them children. The number of displaced people has doubled in two years, and Ratwatte described conditions in many of their places of residence as deplorable.
Call to accelerate force deployment
Haiti's representative, Pierre Eric Pierre, called on the international community to accelerate the deployment of the Multinational Gang Suppression Force to its planned strength. The UN approved the force's mandate in 2025: it is intended to counter gang violence and restore public security alongside the Haitian police and armed forces.
The force is expected to reach 5,500 personnel in the autumn. At the end of next month, the Security Council will vote on extending its mandate. US representative Jennifer Locetta called on the Security Council to extend the mandate and said that with greater material support from other countries, the force would be able to assist the police more effectively in fighting gangs.
Haiti also requested support for recruiting and training new military personnel and stronger enforcement of the UN Security Council's arms embargo. According to the UN human rights office, the illicit inflow of weapons and ammunition continues to strengthen armed gangs. The UN drew attention to reports that one gang in Port-au-Prince displayed on social media what was likely a new shipment of weapons from abroad, despite the embargo in force since 2022.
