On escalating trafficking and exploitation by criminal groups in Haiti

European Parliament resolution on escalating trafficking and exploitation by criminal groups in Haiti

(2026/2702(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas Haiti faces a collapse of state authority, with gangs controlling large swathes of territory; whereas gangs commit extortion, kidnappings and killings, and drive hunger, displacement and widespread violence; whereas at least 5 519 people were killed and at least 1 571 women and girls were victims of sexual violence between March 2025 and January 2026;

B.whereas most gangs are involved in child trafficking; whereas child recruitment reportedly tripled in 2025; whereas children reportedly account for up to 50 % of gang members; whereas school closures have deprived 1.5 million children of education;

C.whereas gangs use sexual violence to intimidate and control, disproportionately affecting women and girls;

D.whereas the humanitarian situation has reached unprecedented levels, with 1.45 million people displaced and over half the population facing acute food insecurity and a severely underfunded response;

E.whereas transnational crime, illicit arms flows, drug trafficking and money laundering fuel gang violence, trafficking and exploitation in Haiti;

F.whereas on 30 September 2025, the UN Security Council transformed the Multinational Security Support into the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which remains underfunded and understaffed;

1.Strongly condemns the escalating violence perpetrated by criminal groups, the trafficking, recruitment and exploitation, including sexual exploitation, of children, and the forced displacement of civilians;

2.Calls for a disarmament, dismantlement and reintegration policy, also for children; stresses that children must not be criminalised for acts committed as a direct consequence of their exploitation, but recognised and assisted as victims; calls for access to medical care and legal protection for survivors of sexual violence and exploitation;

3.Calls on the Haitian authorities to prevent child trafficking by strengthening social protection, ensuring safe education, expanding psychosocial care and developing reintegration programmes, ensuring rights-based pathways out of violence;

4.Calls on the Haitian authorities to prioritise justice, ensure redress, fight impunity, investigate all crimes committed by criminal groups in fair and credible proceedings, and operationalise specialised judicial capacity accordingly; calls for independent investigations into alleged extrajudicial killings;

5.Calls for the EU, its Member States and international partners to strengthen support for child protection, rehabilitation and reintegration, survivor services, judicial and prosecutorial capacity, and Haitian civil society;

6.Notes the reductions in USAID and UN funding; calls for the EU and its Member States to increase humanitarian support, including protection and healthcare for victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation; urges host countries to halt deportations to Haiti;

7.Calls for the EU and its Member States to provide sustained support for the GSF, ensuring robust human rights and accountability safeguards;

8.Demands full implementation of the UN arms embargo; urges the EU and its Member States to intensify efforts to curb illicit arms and financial flows to Haiti, including through judicial cooperation and border monitoring, and continue imposing targeted sanctions;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, Commission, VP/HR, UN Secretary-General, CARIFORUM institutions, and Haitian authorities.