UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The Dominican Republic has expelled hundreds of pregnant and breastfeeding women to Haiti over the past month despite its mounting insecurity and “in violation of international standards”, the United Nations (UN) said Tuesday.

Boosting deportations to neighbouring Haiti — the region’s poorest nation which is ravaged by gang violence — was a campaign promise of Dominican President Luis Abinader, reelected in May 2024 for a second term.

The UN humanitarian team in Haiti “expresses deep concern over the rising number of pregnant and breastfeeding women being deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, in violation of international standards”, the group said in a statement.

It said the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with Haitian authorities and others, had “assisted an average of 15 pregnant women and 15 breastfeeding mothers per day” at two border crossings since April 22.

The two countries share the island of Hispaniola, the second-biggest in the Caribbean after Cuba.

“Nearly 20,000 individuals — including a growing number of highly vulnerable women — were deported by land in April 2025, marking a record number for a one-month period,” according to the IOM.

“It is imperative that commitments to protecting vulnerable populations are upheld,” said Ulrika Richardson, UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti.

Haiti has long suffered from political instability and gang violence, but the situation has significantly worsened over the past year, particularly in the capital Port-au-Prince.

Last month, the UN’s special representative to Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, warned the country was approaching a “point of no return” and was in desperate need of international aid.

The UN estimates over a million Haitians have been internally displaced due to the violence.