Mr. Chair and honourable members, thank you for the opportunity to provide our assessment of the situation in Haiti.
I, together with my colleague Sandra Pellegrini, represent ACLED, or Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, an independent, impartial global monitor that collects, analyzes and maps data on conflict and protests. Today, we will provide an assessment, drawing on ACLED data, including [Technical difficulty—Editor] 2018.
Since 2021, the security situation has deteriorated year after year. ACLED data shows that between 2021 and 2025, violence levels increased by 162%, and we recorded over 1,700 violent incidents and 4,700 fatalities last year alone. The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse accelerated the breakdown of an already unstable political order and disrupted pre-existing relationships between gangs and members of the country's political and economic elites. The result is that gangs have gained greater autonomy from their political backers by diversifying their sources of revenue, which include kidnapping for ransom, extortion and taking control of strategic roads and infrastructure.
Gangs have further sought to expand their territorial influence to bolster their resources and leverage over political authorities. They have expanded not only within the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area but also beyond the capital, including in other parts of the Ouest department and regions further north into Artibonite and Centre.
While gangs continue to compete for control of specific neighbourhoods and territories, they have increasingly acted in coordination under the Viv Ansanm coalition. This [Technical difficulty—Editor] transitional authorities more directly and respond collectively—