Ronald Sanders | Haiti: Tragically descending into deeper crisis

As gang violence spirals out of control in Haiti, the limitations of international efforts to restore order, including a Kenyan-led security mission, have laid bare the depth of the crisis. A nation already on its knees now faces an even darker abyss. Haiti’s tragedy serves as a stark reminder that no matter how dire circumstances may seem, they can always deteriorate further.

CENTURIES OF INJUSTICE

Haiti’s revolution (1791-1804) — the first successful uprising by enslaved people — should have been a beacon of hope. Instead, it marked the beginning of relentless punishment by a global order that was infused with racism and avarice. Forced to pay France reparations for its own freedom, Haiti was crippled by debt and subjected to invasions, occupations, and economic exploitation. This financial and political stranglehold laid the groundwork for centuries of poverty and instability.

Corrupt leadership, often propped up by external powers, exacerbated the country’s struggles for decades, while natural disasters — earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods — repeatedly decimated its fragile infrastructure. By the time President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021, Haiti’s constitutional institutions had disintegrated. The nation was left adrift, ruled by unpopular decrees without any form of public participation amid surging gang violence, widespread hunger, and political paralysis.

NATION ON THE BRINK

Today, Haiti teeters on the edge of collapse. Nearly half of its population — 5.41 million people — are acutely food insecure, and one in six children faces famine. Over 700,000 people have been forcibly displaced while more than 900 schools remain closed, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of education.

Criminal gangs dominate nearly 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas, holding 2.7 million people hostage to violence, extortion, and kidnappings. Even more alarmingly, thousands of children are now counted among their ranks, coerced into roles ranging from looters to murderers. These gangs, emboldened by weak governance, maintain their firepower and expand their reach even in the face of international interventions.

Haiti’s police force, outgunned and underfunded, struggles to maintain order. The Kenyan-led multinational security mission, a contingent of just 430 personnel, has proven woefully inadequate against entrenched criminal networks. Frustrated communities have taken matters into their own hands, forming vigilante groups to deliver brutal justice. In one chilling scene, gang members’ bodies were dismembered in front of a silent and seemingly complicit police force.

TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL: LOSING OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD

As basic services collapse and desperation deepens, the Transitional Council has squandered its chance to provide leadership. In April 2024, under pressure from the United States and with the backing of CARICOM, Haiti established the Council to stabilise the country, restore constitutional legitimacy, and pave the way for elections. The Council appointed Garry Conille, a former UNICEF official, as interim prime minister, alongside a technocratic Cabinet. While this initiative offered hope, it was fraught with danger from the start and destined to fail. The mix of ambitious politicians and technocrats – many of whom were not selected by the council – set up disquiet and quickly led to dysfunction.

By November, the Council’s fractious relationship with Conille and his cabinet culminated in his dismissal. In just five months, little progress had been made towards stabilising the country or addressing the root causes of its crisis. This failure further eroded international confidence and left Haiti’s plight unresolved.

UN PEACEKEEPING INITIATIVE STALLED

Haiti’s plight is more than a humanitarian disaster – it is a test of the United Nations effectiveness. The Haitian government, supported by CARICOM and the United States, has called for a full-scale UN peacekeeping operation. Such an initiative could provide the resources and personnel needed to restore order, with its costs distributed among all UN member states. However, China and Russia – two of the five veto powers in the Security Council – have opposed the idea, arguing that peacekeepers are meant to maintain peace, not combat urban crime or rescue dysfunctional states. This effort, therefore, remains stalled.

COLLAPSE OF BASIC SERVICES

As violence intensifies, basic services have crumbled. The United Nations recently evacuated its staff from Port-au-Prince, citing escalating dangers. Humanitarian organisations, like Doctors Without Borders, have suspended operations due to threats against staff and patients. Food for the Poor, a nonprofit organisation that manages feeding programmes, can no longer deliver aid reliably because of gang blockades, road hazards, and airport closures.

The Transitional Council’s inability to form an electoral council or advance constitutional reforms has only compounded the crisis. Without these critical steps, Haiti remains stuck in a cycle of instability. A new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, has taken office, but his government faces the daunting task of rebuilding trust, addressing gang violence, and navigating a Transitional Council prone to micromanagement. Time is not on his side.

WAY FORWARD

Ultimately, the responsibility for Haiti’s recovery lies with its leadership. The Transitional Council must demonstrate unity, stability, competence, and urgency in its efforts to stabilize the country. Without decisive action to rebuild constitutional institutions and restore governance, the Council risks isolating Haiti further, plunging the country deeper into chaos as the gangs grow stronger, more strident, and more determined.

Haiti’s history is one of resilience against unimaginable odds, but the resilience of its beleaguered people alone cannot rebuild a nation. It is time for its leaders to rise above petty divisions and forge an agreed plan to achieve stability and peace. Only then can Haiti’s neighbours and international partners step forward with confidence to help pull the nation from the brink.

This is the task to which all involved — both domestically and internationally — must commit, setting aside perceived strategic interests, whether personal or national.

Sir Ronald Sanders is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS. The views expressed are entirely his own. Responses and previous commentaries:www.sirronaldsanders.com