International

As a new multinational gang suppression force (GSF), begins its deployment in Haiti, attention is slowly turning to the thousands of children who have been recruited or trafficked into the country's armed gangs. Of the approximately 10,000 to 20,000 gang members, international organisations estimate that between 30 and 50 percent are minors, though experts say the figure is difficult to verify. In 2025 alone, the recruitment and use of children by gangs nearly tripled, according to a UN report.

To celebrate this historic moment, Haitian-Italian fashion designer Stella Jean is releasing a series of special-edition, hand-stitched football jerseys. Each one has the number 26 printed on the back, an ode to the 2026 tournament. “It marks a year of rebirth,” says Jean. “52 years later, we celebrate Haiti shining again on football’s biggest stage. It’s never too late to rise,
 to lift our heads and make the impossible visible.” 

Environ 30.000 personnes ont été contraintes de fuir leur domicile dans la capitale haïtienne, Port-au-Prince, et ses environs, à la suite d’une nouvelle vague d’attaques violentes et d’atrocités perpétrées par des gangs armés au cours des dix derniers jours. Une grande partie des violences s’est concentrée à Cité Soleil, un quartier défavorisé de la capitale, où les travailleurs humanitaires tentent désormais de fournir une assistance vitale.

The CARICOM Eminent Persons Group (EPG) wishes to inform the Haitian public that it is not in any way involved in the political initiative called ‘Washington-Haiti-CARICOM Socio-Political Relief Solution organised by the Consensus des Assises du Dialogue Inter-Haïtien (CADIH)’.

The flag, stitched together in 1803 to represent the unity of all Haitians in their fight for independence, remains a powerful symbol of resilience and liberation. Yet 223 years later, that same resilience is being tested as never before, as ordinary Haitians struggle to survive amid economic devastation, political turmoil, and the daily terror of gang violence that has transformed their neighborhoods into war zones. For many Haitians observing Flag Day this year, the celebration serves as both a reminder of their ancestors' triumph over oppression and a plea for the international community to help restore the security and dignity that the flag was meant to represent.