UNITED NATIONS – Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé says the French-speaking Caribbean country is at a “watershed moment” in its struggle against gang violence, calling for sustained international support alongside stronger national security institutions.
In an addressing world leaders on Friday, during the 81st Session of the United Nations Debate, Fils-Aimé said criminal violence was threatening communities across the country, but insisted Haiti was neither defeated nor seeking to have others determine its future.
“Haiti will resist. Haiti is standing tall,” he said, urging the international community “not to save it, but to stand side by side with it, while it takes its own destiny into its own hands.”
The prime minister said the scale of violence, including massacres, displacement and attacks against women and children, demanded decisive action.
He paid tribute to victims, as well as Haitian and international security personnel, who have died serving the country, stressing that the human toll must not become simply another statistic.
Fils-Aimé said Haiti is strengthening its own security forces, including through a program to train 4,000 police officers.
He said more than 2,000 have already been trained, while over 1,500 new soldiers have completed training.
Fils-Aimé said the government also plans to train 15,000 additional soldiers over the next three years.
“Our goal is not only to respond to the crisis of today,” he said, but to build the capacity for Haiti to sustainably ensure its own security.
At the same time, Fils-Aimé expressed concern that the international force intended to support those efforts was still not fully operational or at its planned strength of 5,500 personnel.
He called for renewal of the mandate of the “gang suppression force” and its full deployment with the personnel, equipment and resources required.
“A mandate is not enough,” he warned. “There’s a need for forces. Equipment is needed, and one needs to resolve to see the effort through.”
The prime minister also urged stronger international action against illicit weapons and ammunition trafficking, noting that the guns fueling violence in Haiti are arriving through transnational criminal networks.
As part of efforts to combat impunity, Fils-Aimé said the government has established two specialized judicial hubs addressing financial and mass crimes and sexual violence, while reactivating the national commission for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.
At the same time, he said restoring security must go hand in hand with economic recovery and a return to democratic government through “free, credible, inclusive and honest elections”.
The prime minister said enrollment centers are open, political parties and groups have been accredited, and prospective candidates are completing formalities.
He also called for a fundamental shift in Haiti’s economic relationship with international partners.
“We need to move from aid to investment, from assistance to production, from dependency to partnership,” said Fils-Aimé, stating that investment and job creation, particularly for young people and women, are essential to lasting peace.
But, despite the enormity of the challenges, the Haitian prime minister was optimistic about the country’s future.
“The challenges are colossal, but our willpower is even greater,” he said. “Our generation now needs to let [the tree of liberty] bear the fruit of peace.”
On Thursday, in addressing a special meeting at the United Nations on the future of security in Haiti, Fils-Aimé claimed that Haitians can’t wait to return home and vote in forthcoming general elections.
The United Nations said that general elections in Haiti, which have been repeatedly delayed since 2019, are scheduled to be held on Dec.13, 2026.
“There is [sic are] a people, a people who can wait no longer, a people waiting to regain security, to return home to work, to send their children to school, and to freely choose their leaders,” Fils-Aimé said.
But the UN said armed gangs continue to “perpetrate widespread violence in the Caribbean state, where they regularly murder, rape and kidnap civilians.”
It said gangs now control large parts of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and key transport corridors, hampering the transport of essential services and humanitarian assistance.
The UN said around 6.4 million people require humanitarian assistance in the French-speaking Caribbean country and that almost 1.5 million have been displaced.
As gangs source most of their weapons outside of Haiti, Fils-Aimé told the special UN meeting, hosted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), that Haiti’s security depends on “our collective ability to combat the illicit flows that fuel violence: weapons, ammunition, trafficking, and transnational criminal networks.”
The UN said speakers at the meeting also expressed broad support for extending the mandate of a UN Security Council-backed force, the Gang Suppression Force (GSF).
“The force aims to neutralize armed gangs, protect vital infrastructure, and allow humanitarian aid to enter,” the UN said.
However, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, underscored that the mission is “severely under-deployed”, with only 1,083 personnel on the ground, instead of the 5,500 that were authorized by the UN.
He called for the mission to reach full deployment as early as possible.
At the same time, while expressing their thanks to their international community for its support, representatives of Haiti stressed that they wanted a “Haiti-centric response to the crisis to ensure a more sustainable peace”, according to the UN.
“Haiti must ultimately rest on the capabilities of the Haitian state,” said Fils-Aimé, insisting that security operations are only a first step in tackling the crisis.
“The real test is whether we can hold those gains and translate them into lasting change for the Haitian population,” he added. “When an area becomes accessible again, the State and basic services need to follow: police and local authorities, but also schools, justice institutions and economic activity.”
The prime minister said Haiti is strengthening its security forces by training and recruiting more police officers and soldiers.
He also said that two specialized Haitian judicial units are helping fight against impunity, financial crime, mass atrocity, crimes and sexual violence.
The UN said a key priority raised at the meeting was ensuring that children, including those recruited or associated with gangs, receive adequate protection and support.
“Protecting children from violence, from gang recruitment, while providing safe pathways for children associated with armed groups, must be a priority across our efforts,” said ECOSOC President Amar Bendjama.
“They need access to protection, to education, to essential services,” he added. “They also need opportunities to build for themselves a safe and secure future.”
Ruiz Massieu, the UN’s most senior official in Haiti, said the priority to protect children should guide efforts to dismantle gangs and hold those responsible for serious crimes accountable, calling for “differentiated pathways” for children associated with gangs.
The UN said it and others expressed strong support for children, stressing that they should be “credible, free, fair and inclusive.”
Fils-Aimé also expressed enthusiasm, stating that “Haiti’s next government must come through the ballot box.
“Voting restores legitimacy, and legitimacy paves the way for stability,” he said. “Today, the electoral process is well underway. Electoral operations have been launched. Citizens are registering. Political organizations have also been certified.”
