The UN Office for Human Rights assured this Thursday that the situation in Haiti, a country devastated by gang violence, It is a “cataclysm” with more than 1,500 deaths at the hands of these groups so far this yearso he called for “bold and immediate” action to confront it.
According to a report from the office headed by High Commissioner Volker Türk, rising levels of gang violence in the country have worsened corruption, impunity and misgovernance, which is eroding the rule of law and making the population “severely deprived” of their rights.
“Widespread corruption and dysfunctions in the judicial system contribute greatly to widespread impunity for serious human rights violations and must be urgently addressed,” the high commissioner said when presenting the report.
In this sense, the report data reveals a significant increase in the number of victims of gang violence in 2023, with 4,451 deaths and 1,668 injuries recorded in the period between September 2023 and February 2024.
In the first three months of 2024 alone, at least 1,554 deaths and 826 injuries were recorded.
It has also verified cases of sexual violence by gangs to “brute, punish and control” people, with cases of women being sexually exploited or raped to force their families to pay ransoms.
The gangs also continue to recruit and abuse minors who cannot leave their ranks for fear of reprisals, which, in some cases, has led to the death of young gang members trying to escape, the report warns.
The high commissioner's office was equally alarmed by the creation of the so-called “self-defense brigades”, which, it assured, “take justice into their own hands”, with at least 528 cases of lynchings perpetrated by them in 2023 and others. 59 in 2024.
The report also highlights how, despite the arms embargo, a cross-border supply of weapons and ammunition is maintained for the gangs, which means that they often have greater armed force than the Haitian National Police itself.
In this situation, Türk reiterated the urgent need for a multinational security support mission to help the country's National Police “stop the violence, effectively protect the population and restore the rule of law in the country.”
“It is shocking that, despite the terrible situation on the ground, weapons continue to flow in. I call for more effective implementation of the arms embargo,” said Türk.
However, he recalled that strengthening security alone will not provide lasting solutions and called for the implementation of policies aimed at restoring the rule of law and preventing violence.
Therefore, he urged all national parties to engage in constructive dialogue that facilitates a political agreement towards a democratic transition that leads to free and fair legislative and presidential elections.
In October of last year, the UN Security Council approved the deployment of a multinational force in Haiti, at the request of the country's own government to stop the spiral of violence.
This mission was initially to be led by Kenyan security forces, although the African country's Justice Department blocked its sending in January, considering it “unconstitutional”, which has delayed an operation that, despite being approved by the UN, was not It depends directly on it.
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