OHCHR warns dire human rights situation as gang violence spreads in Haiti

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 9th Feb. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Friday that the dire human rights situation in Haiti has deteriorated more as the gang violence expands. 

OHCHR said in a press release that 806 people not involved in violent gang wars were killed, injured, or kidnapped in January, the bloodiest month in two years.

It noted that some 300 gang members were killed or injured, bringing the overall total of people affected to 1,108 more than three times the number recorded in January 2023 – and each day brings more casualties.

Mr. Volker Türk said “Now, more than ever, Haitian lives depend on the deployment, with no further delay, of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti to support the National Police and bring security to the Haitian population, under conditions that comply with international human rights norms and standards,” referred to the mission authorized by the UN Security Council last October.

It stressed that gang members clash for control of territory in Port-au-Prince and have escalated their activities in areas outside the city. 

According to the UN human rights office the intensity of the fighting, lasting several hours in some cases, may indicate that some gangs have received new ammunition. 

OHCHR said gangs continue to use sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon, and spread fear by using local social media to share gruesome photos and videos of killed individuals and women being raped. 

Mr. Türk described the growing and widespread insecurity as a “torrent of violence” – has sparked anti-government street protests and civil unrest, supported by opposition political parties, in at least 24 towns.  

Some 16 people were killed and 29 injured in recent weeks mainly in the context of clashes between protesters and police. 

Turk voiced concern over the situation of children, noted that 167 boys and girls were killed and injured by bullets last year.  

He reiterated that some were executed by gangs or so-called “self-defence” groups for their suspected support for rivals, while the recruitment of children into gangs remained extremely worrisome. 

UNICEF has called for all parties to safeguard Haiti’s youngest citizens amid the latest unrest.  

UNICEF Representative in Haiti Bruno Maes said in a statement that “Children and families are already enduring relentless waves of brutal violence perpetrated by armed groups in their neighbourhoods with each day bringing new horrors, the loss of loved ones, homes being destroyed by fires or bullets, and an ever-present shadow of fear”. 

He noted that Haitians are facing some of the worst human rights violations and threats in the country’s recent history. 

The agency said that years of political turmoil, poverty, institutional and socioeconomic crises, disease outbreaks, increased rates of malnutrition, disasters and escalating armed violence have left over three million children in need of humanitarian assistance, and many more will join them if the situation deteriorates. 

Bruno Maes urged all stakeholders, including authorities at all levels “to cease the violence and focus on safely reopening and providing essential social services for children where they were previously nonfunctional, as the unrest has led to the interruption of essential social services such as education, health, and protection.