(Note: A complete summary of today's Security Council meeting will be available at a later time.)
While the new year carries "high expectations" for progress in Haiti, the Security Council heard today that achieving this requires sustained security efforts, focused international engagement and assumed political responsibilities.
"The country has no time to waste on prolonged internecine fighting," said Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). All national stakeholders, he urged, must find common ground ahead of 7 February - the date on which the current transitional arrangement will end.
Steps taken in recent months to advance electoral preparations are "particularly encouraging", he continued, spotlighting the 1 December adoption of an electoral decree and the 23 December publication of an electoral calendar.
Additionally, he said new legal provisions on voter registration, diaspora participation, women's political inclusion and decentralized vote tabulation - if effectively applied - can contribute to credible, inclusive elections. Noting that Haiti's Prime Minister "declared 2026 an electoral year", he said that achieving this goal will require sustained institutional coordination, predictable financing and security conditions that allow participation without fear.
However, he reported that gangs continue to mount coordinated attacks, exert control over key economic corridors and agricultural regions, force displacement, stretch humanitarian-response capacity and push police resources to their limits. Intentional homicides in 2025 increased by nearly 20 per cent compared with 2024.
Sustained Pressure on Gangs 'Yielding Results'
Yet, at the same time, "sustained pressure on gangs has yielded results", he said, pointing to the reopening of some road networks and restored State presence in some parts of Port-au-Prince and Artibonite. The challenge now lies in expanding and sustaining security gains, as well as in creating conditions for the delivery of basic services. "Without this, security improvements clearly risk reversal," he stressed.
In that context, he welcomed progress towards establishing the United Nations Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH) and underlined the "urgent need" for Member States to provide the Gang Suppression Force with the resources necessary to execute its mandate. Additionally, a nationally led approach for disarmament, dismantling and reintegration must complement enforcement measures. He also urged support for the humanitarian response - which was "one of the least-funded global humanitarian appeals" in 2024. "Managing the political calendar, supporting still-fragile stabilization efforts and addressing persistent humanitarian needs will directly determine [Haiti's] ability to progress towards credible elections," he concluded.
A Call to Enforce Arms Embargo as Criminal Networks Evolve, Expand
John Brandolino, Acting Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), then presented the entity's report on sources and routes of illicit arms and financial flows in Haiti, warning that fragmented local gangs and vigilante forces have evolved into structured criminal networks with defined leadership, territorial ambitions and diversified revenue streams.
Organized violence in Haiti is closely linked to arms trafficking and, since 2022, UNODC has documented increased inflows of high-calibre and military-grade weapons through maritime, air and land routes. Trafficking networks operate with notable flexibility, he added, reporting: "When one corridor is disrupted, another quickly emerges."
Citing the Dominican Republic's response as instructive, he noted that strengthened border controls and joint operations led to significant seizures in 2025, which disrupted supply chains. Traffickers have since adapted, however, shifting towards weaker Haitian ports, offshore transfers and indirect routes to evade embargo controls.
He also warned that private security companies and informal self-defence groups are driving the illicit firearms trade, while money-laundering networks rely on cash smuggling, unregulated remittance channels, trade-based schemes and front companies. In 2025, Haiti's Financial Intelligence Unit processed nearly 1.5 million transaction reports; yet, major enforcement gaps persist.
"What these findings ultimately reveal is that the situation in Haiti has grown beyond a national crisis into a broader, interlinked supply-chain challenge and regional security threat," he said. He called for stronger enforcement of the UN arms embargo, sustained anti-corruption efforts and adequate support for the Gang Suppression Force and UNSOH to help restore stability and the rule of law.
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