At least 3,661 dead in ‘senseless’ gang violence in Haiti this year: UN | News about armed groups

The UN human rights chief is calling for a crackdown on the arms trade that is fueling ‘crime’ and worsening the humanitarian crisis.

At least 3,661 people were killed in Haiti in the first half of this year as a result of the “senseless” gang violence that has swept the country, according to the United Nations.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday that the death toll between January and June – including 100 children – showed that last year’s “high levels of violence” had been maintained.

“No more lives should be lost to this senseless crime,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

Haiti was already reeling from years of unrest as powerful armed groups – often with ties to the country’s political and business leaders – vied for influence and control over the territory.

The situation deteriorated dramatically in late February, when the gangs launched attacks on prisons and other state institutions in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The UN report documented “extremely serious patterns of human rights violations and abuses taking place” in Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite department north of the capital.

It also followed increasing violence in the southern part of the Western Department, where the capital is located, a part of the country that had thus far remained largely unaffected.

According to the report, “gangs have continued to use sexual violence to punish, instill fear and subjugate the population.”

Violence in the country is fueled by arms trafficking, mainly from the United States, but also from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

OHCHR said poorly controlled airspaces, coastlines and porous borders allowed gangs to obtain high-caliber weapons, drones, boats and “a seemingly endless supply of bullets.”

Turk urged the international community to implement a global arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze program imposed by the UN Security Council.

Peacekeeping

The increase in violence this year prompted the resignation of Haiti’s unelected prime minister, the creation of the Presidential Transitional Council and the deployment of a UN-backed, Kenyan-led multinational force, the Multinational Security Support Mission ( MSS).

About ten countries have committed more than 3,100 troops to the MSS, but only 430 of them have been deployed so far, OHCHR said.

The report was published days before the MSS’s one-year mandate in support of Haiti expires. The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on September 30 on whether to extend the mandate.

Haiti has asked the UN to consider turning it into a formal peacekeeping mission to secure stable funds and capacity.

Turk said it was clear that the mission needed “adequate and sufficient equipment and personnel to effectively and sustainably combat the criminal gangs, and prevent them from spreading further and wreaking havoc on people’s lives.”

On Wednesday, Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Garry Conille called for international support on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“We are a long way from winning this, and the simple reality is that we won’t be able to do that without your help,” he said.

The number of people internally displaced by violence has almost doubled in the past six months to more than 700,000, while around 1.6 million people are estimated to be food insecure.