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A new joint United Nations report released in 2026 has formally acknowledged significant operational progress made by Haiti’s national police force (PNH) in its ongoing campaign against armed gang violence, even as it issues a stark warning that hard-won security gains could be reversed without consistent international backing and continued political commitment from Haitian leaders.

The PNH has publicly welcomed the UN assessment, which highlights the tangible on-ground efforts and incremental advances achieved by the force amid one of the world’s most complex and volatile security environments. The police institution expressed particular satisfaction that the report gives long-overdue international recognition to the work of its specialized tactical units and every rank-and-file officer serving across the country. PNH officials noted that this formal recognition will help international stakeholders gain a clearer, more accurate understanding of the daily operational risks and structural challenges the force confronts as it works to restore state control over gang-held territory.

According to the PNH, the progress documented in the UN report stems directly from the strategic vision and unwavering institutional support provided by Haiti’s national government, whose firm commitment to stabilizing national security has allowed the police to secure the resources needed to expand and strengthen its presence across all regions of the country. Beyond counter-gang operations, the force has also ramped up internal anti-corruption measures and crackdowns on transnational kidnapping and weapons smuggling, leading to multiple high-profile seizures of illegal arms and ammunition at northern Haitian ports and along the country’s land borders, all conducted in strict adherence to international human rights standards, the PNH confirmed.

The joint 2026 report, produced by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), outlines that intensified counter-gang operations led by Haitian security forces have successfully reclaimed significant swathes of territory in the capital Port-au-Prince, and have established a more visible, consistent police presence in previously gang-held communities. Even as it recognizes these advances, the report emphasizes that the progress remains inherently reversible without sustained international financial, logistical and political support, coupled with enduring political will from Haiti’s governing institutions.

Security forces including the PNH, the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H), the specialized Gang Repression Force (FRG), and Vectus Global – an American private security firm founded by former Blackwater head Erik Prince – have retaken pockets of territory from gangs, but heavily armed criminal groups still maintain control over most strategic supply routes that are critical to their weapons trafficking and extortion operations. The report confirms that intensified operations have put unprecedented pressure on gang networks, forcing these groups to adapt their criminal tactics to evade crackdowns. While the shifting pressure has created what the report calls “glimmers of hope” in some urban areas, gangs have responded by expanding their extortion and kidnapping operations into rural regions including the Artibonite and central Haiti, while retaining control or influence over key maritime and road routes that fund their activities.

In a formal statement responding to the UN report, the PNH reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to carrying out its mandate with professionalism, dedication and a steadfast sense of duty, prioritizing the safety of the Haitian people and the restoration of lasting national peace above all other objectives.

In an official presentation hosted at Port-au-Prince’s Montana Hotel on April 16, 2026, Haiti’s National Food Security Coordination (CNSA) released updated Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) data that paints a deeply concerning picture of the country’s ongoing food crisis, even as it notes limited, localized progress. The new analysis projects that between March and June 2026, Haiti’s annual lean season, more than 5.83 million people – equal to 52% of the population evaluated in the study – will experience acute food insecurity severe enough to qualify as IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or higher. Compared to the CNSA’s September 2025 projection, which estimated 5.91 million people would fall into these high-risk phases, this marks a small improvement. Similarly, the number of people projected to face the most severe Phase 4 (Emergency) conditions has fallen slightly from 2 million to 1.9 million, or 16% of the analyzed population. However, CNSA analysts warn that these marginal gains are far too small to reverse the overall downward trajectory of food security across the Caribbean nation. The limited improvements can be traced to three key factors: a slowdown in Haiti’s rampant annual inflation, generally favorable growing conditions during the winter agricultural cycle, and improved access to movement along a small number of key roadways. Inflation has cooled from 31.9% in September 2025 to 22.1% as of February 2026, but global market shocks have erased much of this progress. The recent outbreak of conflict in the Middle East and subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have sent major disruptions rippling through the global food supply chain, with immediate, negative consequences for Haiti, which relies heavily on imported food staples. When compared to the most recent six-month period from September 2025 to February 2026 – when 5.7 million people faced Phase 3 or higher food insecurity – the upcoming lean season will bring a clear net deterioration in conditions for Haitian households. Two primary drivers are fueling this deepening crisis: escalating armed violence across the country and lingering damage from last year’s major hurricane. Today, armed non-state gangs control approximately 90% of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Chronic violence has crippled Haiti’s already fragile economy, blocked the movement of critical food supplies and civilians, and pushed thousands of vulnerable Haitians into desperation, with many forced to join armed groups just to secure enough food to feed their families. In October 2025, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southern Haiti, bringing catastrophic torrential rain, widespread flooding, and deadly landslides that destroyed homes, infrastructure, and cropland across the Grand Sud region, portions of the west coast near Petit-Goâve and Port-au-Prince, and the southeastern department. The ongoing economic collapse has compounded hardship for communities still recovering from the storm’s damage. Of the 30 administrative areas evaluated in the latest IPC analysis, 10 remain classified as Phase 4 Emergency. These high-risk zones include two districts in the Northwest Department, three zones in the Artibonite Department outside Gonaïves, the Lower Plateau, all internally displaced person camps, the island of La Gonâve, the Belle-Anse district in the Southeast Department, and the low-income neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince including Cité Soleil. Every other region of the country is projected to remain in Phase 3 Crisis for the March-June 2026 period. In response to these findings, the CNSA has outlined three core priority actions for national and international stakeholders. First, emergency life-saving interventions are immediately required for all Phase 4 areas. These responses must prioritize supporting the poorest and hardest-hit households to meet their basic food needs, close critical consumption gaps, and prevent the total, permanent loss of household livelihoods. Second, targeted support to rebuild livelihoods is critical to strengthen long-term resilience. Successive climate and economic shocks have eroded household ability to recover from crises, so rapid support to restore productive assets – including the distribution of agricultural inputs, livestock support, rural credit, direct material aid, and cash transfers – is essential to support the 2026 spring planting season and help families restore their independent income streams. Finally, the CNSA emphasizes the urgent need to connect emergency food response to long-term development and peacebuilding efforts. Chronic limited access to basic services and long-standing governance gaps continue to worsen food insecurity for Haitian households. Tying together emergency relief, development programming, and peacebuilding work is the only way to create sustainable, transformative improvements in food and nutrition security and build lasting stability in the country’s most affected regions.

In a landmark high-level working session held on April 17, senior diplomatic delegations from Haiti and the Dominican Republic reached a key agreement to reopen shared airspace between the two Caribbean nations, marking a major step forward in bilateral cooperation after years of restricted cross-border air travel. The talks, which built on a nine-point bilateral framework laid out in a 2021 joint declaration signed by Haiti’s late former President Jovenel Moïse and Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, brought together top foreign affairs officials from both sides to advance dialogue on core shared priorities for the neighboring states.

The Haitian delegation, led by that country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Raina Forbin, included several senior diplomatic representatives: Haiti’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic Emmanuel Fritz Longchamp, Chief of Staff Winnie Hugot Gabriel, Director of Political Affairs Jean-Claude Lappé, and Director of Dominican Affairs Yves Rody Jean. The meeting underscores the current Haitian government, led by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, has made strengthening constructive bilateral dialogue a top priority, with a stated commitment to approaching all shared issues through a lens of mutual respect for national sovereignty and collaborative problem-solving.

Heading the Dominican Republic’s contingent was that nation’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Roberto Álvarez, joined by Vice Minister of Multilateral Foreign Policy Rubén Silié, Vice Minister of Bilateral Foreign Policy Francisco Caraballo, Dominican ambassador to Haiti Faruk Miguel, Director of Strategic Studies and Analysis Emil Chireno, Legal Director Boni Guerrero, and Counselor Jatzel Román. Over the course of the working session, both sides held open, constructive exchanges on three core topics at the top of the bilateral agenda: cross-border security cooperation, migration management, and bilateral trade. The talks centered on refining joint mechanisms to strengthen border control and surveillance while advancing practical, mutually beneficial solutions to the two nations’ most pressing shared challenges.

The most significant outcome of the meeting is the formal agreement to reopen airspace between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which will restore scheduled commercial air links between Cap-Haitien International Airport and all participating Dominican airports starting May 1, 2026. Officials from both sides noted the policy shift is designed to ease cross-border movement of people, stimulate stagnant economic ties between the neighbors, and deepen people-to-people connections that have been limited by years of airspace restrictions.

Beyond the airspace agreement, delegations from both nations publicly thanked the international community for its ongoing support for efforts to stabilize Haiti’s security landscape, specifically highlighting the role of the United Nations and the French Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in actions aimed at restoring public security and institutional stability to Haiti, which has grappled with widespread gang violence and political upheaval in recent years.

To wrap up the session, both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to keeping open communication channels active, and framed continuous bilateral dialogue as the primary path to resolving future areas of disagreement or shared concern. The talks will be followed up with future high-level technical working groups to advance the understandings reached during this session, all within a framework of mutual respect, good neighborliness, and adherence to international law.