UN Human Rights calls for the deployment of a specialized force to end gang violence

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calls on the international community to “urgently consider the deployment of a specialized support force with a specific deadline and (…) a comprehensive and precise action plan.”

The message was conveyed by a spokeswoman for his office, who also urged the Haitian authorities to immediately address the dire security situation. reinforcing the national police force.

Gang turf fight

Clashes between rival gangs in Haiti “are increasingly violent and frequent,” denounced Marta Hurtado.

He explained that these gangs seek to expand their territorial control in the capital and other regions of the country “attacking people who live in areas controlled by their rivals.”

The spokeswoman estimated the number of deaths from the beginning of the year to March 15 at 531, while the number of injured rose to 300 and the number of kidnapped to 277.

“Most of the victims died or were injured by snipers apparently shooting randomly at people in their homes or on the street. The gangs also use sexual violence against women and girls to terrorize, subdue and punish the population,” he warned.

He added that gang members “frequently use sexual violence against kidnapped girls to pressure families into paying a ransom.”

Kidnappings of students and teachers

Hurtado also indicated that both students and teachers were hit by stray bullets during the clashes between gangs and announced an increase in kidnappings of parents and students in the immediate vicinity of schoolsa situation that caused the closure of many schools.

“Without the protective environment of schools, many children have been forcibly recruited by armed gangs,” he specified.

Hurtado stressed that this increase in violence caused the number of displaced persons to have grown to 160,000 by mid-March. A quarter of them live in, with very limited access to basic services such as drinking water and sanitation.

Violence causes inflation and lack of food

He went on to point out that instability and gang violence contributed to rising prices and food insecurity.

“Half the population does not have enough to eatand in some areas, such as Cité Soleil, hunger has reached particularly alarming levels,” he warned.

Hurtado recalled that the call for attention to the international community that Türk made last February “has not yet been put into practice” and stressed that “its recommendations are more urgent than ever.”