At a Glance

Haiti’s trajectory since its 1804 independence has been shaped by external economic pressures, recurrent coups, authoritarian rule and foreign interventions, which weakened institutions and fostered coercive governance. Democratic openings repeatedly reversed and were compounded by major natural disasters that further degraded public services. Since 2011, stalled reconstruction, corruption allegations, and contested elections contributed to State erosion, culminating after the 2021 assassination of President Moise in expanded areas under gang control, poverty, and mass internal displacement. Between 2023 and 2025, international missions, renewed sanctions, and a transitional presidential council sought to stabilize the situation, but political dialogue faltered, elections were repeatedly delayed, and the humanitarian situation deteriorated. New gang coalitions carried out massacres and openly challenged State authority, prompting emergency measures, intensified security operations, and civilian self-defence mobilization, amid the imposition of UN sanctions on gang leaders.

THE ARMED CONFLICT(S)

Classification(s) and Parties to the Conflict(s)

• Non-International Armed Conflict between Haiti and Viv Ansanm

CIVILIAN HARM

Gang violence in Haiti, targeting authorities and civilians and particularly associated with the Viv Ansanm coalition and the Gran Grif gang, has been marked by mass killings and widespread shootings and stabbings used to enforce dominance. Large-scale assaults on homes and residential areas, with arson, looting, abductions of women and girls and executions, have depopulated neighbourhoods and displaced almost 1.3 million people within the country. Viv Ansanm blockades and attacks on ports, airports, roads, markets, schools, health facilities, and media outlets have destroyed essential infrastructure, weaponized hunger, and economic deprivation, severely curtailing access to education and medical care. Children have faced physical and sexual abuse, recruitment and exploitation from gangs, with girls coerced into sexual abuse as so-called wives.

Source: https://warwatch.ch/situations/non-international-armed-conflict-in-haiti/