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The special representative of the UN in Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, denounced this Wednesday before the Security Council that since January gang violence in the Caribbean nation “is spreading at an alarming rate in areas previously considered relatively safe in Port-au-Prince and outside the capital.”
As an example of his statement, Salvador indicated that, of the 692 criminal incidents that occurred during the first quarter of last year, which include homicides, rapes, kidnappings and lynchings, there were 1,647 in the same period of 2023.
“Faced with increasingly violent armed gangs fighting for control of neighborhoods in the capital, with little or no police presence, some residents have begun to take the law into their own hands. This dynamic inevitably leads to the rupture of the social fabric, with unforeseeable consequences for the entire region”, he stated.
Despite government investments, the special representative explained the deficiencies suffered by the police forcewhich is understaffed and ill-equipped to respond to violence and crime.
“Deaths, dismissals and the increase in resignations among police officers have reduced their operational strength from 14,772 to some 13,200 troops, of whom only about 9,000 carry out police tasks. Nationwide, only about 3,500 are on constant public security duty. Meanwhile, the recruitment of new police officers has stopped due to deteriorating security and logistical constraints,” denounced.
Apart from the immediate support required by the security forces, Salvador stressed that it is urgent to move forward in the search for a solution at the national level for the prolonged political stalemate, and indicated that this arrangement would serve to restore security in a sustainable and lasting way, as well as the social and economic stability.
The country suffers one of its worst humanitarian crises
As a result of the increase in violence by armed gangs, Salvador affirmed that Haitians continue to suffer from one of the worst human rights crises in decades.
“Interviews conducted by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti indicate that gangs continue to use sexual violence, including gang rape, to terrorize and inflict pain on populations who live in areas under the control of their rivals. Other forms of sexual violence, such as sexual exploitation, were also reported to be used by gangs against women and girls living in communities under their influence,” she highlighted.
A violence that extends to Haitian schoolchildren, already in the last three months many have been shot while they were sitting in their classrooms and kidnapped when they were leaving school.
Although many of the schools that closed late last year as a result of gang violence and extortion reopened in early 2023, many children did not return to classrooms due to violent acts close to school or in their neighborhoods, or the inability of their families to pay school fees.
Half of the population needs humanitarian aid
“I am deeply shocked by reports of snipers indiscriminately targeting civilians. In this highly vulnerable context, armed gangs recruit children. The appointment by the High Commissioner for Human Rights of an Independent Expert on Human Rights, at the request of the Haitian government, It is a positive development that will strengthen the mechanisms for the monitoring and protection of human rights.”.
Despite this progress, Salvador indicated that half of the Haitian population, around 5.2 million people, requires humanitarian aid, that the number of internal displacements increased by 50% in Port-au-Prince compared to last November and that some 39,000 suspected cases of cholera since the reappearance of the outbreak last October.
Finally, the senior official stressed the urgent need to deploy a specialized international force authorized by the Security Council, as stated by the General secretary in his letter of October 8, 2022, and indicated that “the rapid deterioration of the security situation requires that the country remain at the center of international attention and action.”
“Further delay in addressing the unprecedented insecurity in Haiti could also cause insecurity to spill over into the region. The decisive support of the Security Council remains crucial to guarantee security, the rule of law, stability and peace in Haiti”, he concluded.
