Haiti, where gang violence has turned into gangrene, is “hanging on the edge of the abyss”, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Wednesday, calling for “immediate” support for the impoverished Caribbean country.

“I visited the country in February. It is hanging on the edge of the abyss,” said Volker Turk speaking via video link during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

“The state’s inability to guarantee human rights has completely undermined the world’s trust. The social contract has collapsed.”

“Today’s anarchy is a human rights emergency that requires a strong response,” the High Commissioner said.

“Haitian institutions need immediate support, through the development of a special support force, which will respect human rights, with a full plan of action,” he insisted.

Last week, the new UN special envoy to the country, Maria Isabel Salvador, underlined that the “terror” that gangs inflict on the population is spreading at an “alarming rate”.

From January 1 to March 31, the number of recorded murders in the country increased by 21% compared to the previous quarter (815 versus 673) and the number of kidnappings by 63% (637 versus 391).

With this background the UN does not stop repeating its call for the deployment of a special international armed force to help the Haitian police, unable to deal with the gangs, to restore order.

Its Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, first took Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henri’s appeal for help to the Security Council in October 2022, asking for such a force to be formed, but not from the UN.

To no avail to date: although some governments have expressed an intention to contribute police and/or military personnel to this special force, none seem willing to take over leadership.