UN expert condemns 'mass deportations' of Haitians fleeing conflict

FILE PHOTO: People huddle in a corner as police patrol the streets after gang members tried to attack a police station, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol/File Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - An independent expert to the United Nations condemned mass deportations of Haitians who had fled the country amid a humanitarian crisis driven by worsening violence from heavily armed gangs who control large swathes of the country.

In a statement following a visit to the Caribbean nation, William O'Neill said some methods used to repatriate about 176,777 migrants last year do not comply with human rights standards and violate bilateral migration pacts.