IRC: Increasing forced returns and political instability put millions at risk as Haiti’s security unravels

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 11, 2026 —  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that rising instability combined with a drastic global decline in humanitarian funding risks pushing millions of Haitians deeper into crisis. As the mandate of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council expires, worsening insecurity is compounding unprecedented humanitarian needs as criminal gangs seek to fill the vacuum. At the same time, forced returns to Haiti are exacerbating the strain on resources and placing returnees at grave risk.

More than 270,000 people were forcibly returned to Haiti in 2025, with current trends signaling continued returns in the year ahead. Many repatriated Haitians arrive with nowhere to go–nearly 20% were already internally displaced before leaving the country and others remain cut off from loved ones due to expanding gang control. With minimal funding for reintegration, returnees are prime targets for harm, exploitation, and even murder by gangs.

IRC Haiti Country Director Mwiti Mungania said:

“In Haiti, we are seeing firsthand the devastating cycle of violence, displacement and hunger. Entire neighborhoods have become battlegrounds. Sexual violence and forced recruitment are striking fear in the heart of communities. People are dying every day from preventable causes. Our teams and partners are doing everything possible, but with humanitarian funding at historic lows and needs at record highs, millions risk being cut off from lifesaving support. 

“Now that the Transitional Presidential Council has expired and the UN-backed gang suppression force is expected to begin operations soon, there is real fear that the security situation will continue to unravel, with women, children, and forcibly returned people most at risk. Haiti is on the verge of a humanitarian collapse. Without immediate international action to protect civilians and rush in aid, the consequences will be catastrophic.”

Haiti, for the second year in a row, is in the top ten of the IRC’s Emergency Watchlist, an annual report of the world’s worsening humanitarian crises. Gang violence, insecurity, and grave protection risks are driving the crisis to a boiling point. More than 6 million people are in urgent humanitarian need and over half the population is facing crisis levels of hunger. Yet funding for Haiti’s humanitarian response has plummeted to only 3.4% of what’s needed. In the past year, gangs have expanded control across 90% of the capital and beyond, while innocent civilians are running out of options for safety. 

The IRC has been providing humanitarian support in Haiti since 2010, working with a strong network of civil society organizations and local actors to respond to the needs of communities affected by internal displacement and longstanding gang violence. Since December 2022, IRC services have focused on expanding access to healthcare, cholera prevention for internally displaced people, and support for survivors of violence, including gender-based violence.