UN Expert says countries should not return migrants to Haiti
Key Points(5)
- The human rights situation in Haiti has reached catastrophic levels, with widespread violence, insecurity, and humanitarian crises making it unsafe for anyone to be returned to the country, according to Bill O’Neill, a United Nations human rights expert.
- “In my 30 years working in, and on, the country, I have never seen this level of sustained violence and fear,” O’Neill said in a <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/states-should-not-return-anyone-haiti-un-expert-bill-oneill">statement</a> released on July 4, 2025.
- O’Neill highlighted that Haiti is currently too dangerous for a safe, dignified, or sustainable return of Haitians living abroad.
- The country is plagued by kidnappings, killings, sexual violence, and other severe human rights abuses.
- At least 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced from their homes due to the violence, half of whom are children.
The human rights situation in Haiti has reached catastrophic levels, with widespread violence, insecurity, and humanitarian crises making it unsafe for anyone to be returned to the country, according to Bill O’Neill, a United Nations human rights expert.
“In my 30 years working in, and on, the country, I have never seen this level of sustained violence and fear,” O’Neill said in a statement released on July 4, 2025.
O’Neill highlighted that Haiti is currently too dangerous for a safe, dignified, or sustainable return of Haitians living abroad. The country is plagued by kidnappings, killings, sexual violence, and other severe human rights abuses.
At least 1.3 million Haitians have been displaced from their homes due to the violence, half of whom are children. Since last December, displacement has increased by 25 percent. More than half of the population faces acute food insecurity, and only about half of Haiti’s healthcare facilities remain operational, with a mere 13 percent fully functional.
The UN Human Rights Office reports that gangs routinely recruit children and that sexual violence, including gang rape, has surged as a tool to exploit and terrorize communities. Limited services exist for survivors, and perpetrators largely act with impunity.
Gang control has expanded beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, affecting major urban centers, key roads in the Central Plateau, and the vital agricultural region of the Artibonite Valley, leaving no area of the country truly safe.
O’Neill stressed the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits states from returning individuals to places where they face serious threats such as persecution, torture, or other irreparable harm.
He echoed calls from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees urging all countries not to forcibly return any persons to Haiti. This includes those whose asylum claims have been rejected or who have otherwise been found not to qualify for international protection. O’Neill urged governments to consider legal stay arrangements with appropriate protections for those affected.
“The situation in Haiti demands urgent attention and compassion,” O’Neill concluded, “and no one should be forced to return to such danger.”
