At least 3,661 dead this year in violence in Haiti: UN

Published on: 27/09/2024 – 10:42Altered: 27/09/2024 – 10:40

3 minutes

The Western Hemisphere’s poorest country has plunged into virtual anarchy, with gangs taking over the capital Port-au-Prince and security and healthcare systems collapsing.

About 600,000 people were displaced in the first six months of 2024 and 1,280 were injured in gang violence, including 295 women and 63 children, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said in a report.

During that period, at least 893 individuals, including 25 children, were kidnapped and held for ransom by criminal groups, vying for power in a vacuum created by political crisis and weak state authority.

“The latest figures from the UN Human Rights Office indicate that at least 3,661 people have been killed since January this year, maintaining high levels of violence seen in 2023,” the human rights office said.

“No more lives should be lost to this senseless crime,” said Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The OHCHR urged Haitian authorities and the international community to do more to protect the people of the Caribbean island.

It said the gangs had changed their modus operandi this year.

While some victims were hit by indiscriminate gunfire, others were executed in broad daylight for allegedly informing authorities or opposing gang activity.

Fear and submission

“Some of those victims had their bodies mutilated with machetes and then burned.

“Gangs filmed the scenes and shared them widely on social media to spread fear and control the population,” the report said.

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

It said at least 860 people were killed and 393 injured during police operations and patrols in Port-au-Prince, including at least 36 children, which could constitute the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force.

The gangs have also recruited large numbers of children into their ranks, it added.

An estimated 1.6 million people in Haiti face emergency-level food insecurity.

In October 2023, the UN Security Council gave the green light to send a multinational stabilization force, led by Kenya, to assist the Haitian police.

Kenyan President William Ruto told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that his country would complete the deployment of the 2,500-strong Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) by January.

– ‘Wreak havoc’ –

To date, an advance contingent of approximately 430 MSS personnel has been deployed in Haiti.

In addition to Kenyans, there are about twenty soldiers from Jamaica and Belize.

Ruto said Kenya and other African and Caribbean countries were ready to deploy but were hampered by insufficient equipment, logistics and financing.

Turk said the stabilization force needed more equipment and personnel.

“I welcome recent positive steps such as the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council, the new transitional government and the deployment of the first contingents of the MSS,” he said.

“It is clear, however, that the mission requires 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.”

Turk urged Haitian authorities to reform the police and other state institutions crippled by endemic corruption, including the judiciary.

He said the international community must comprehensively implement the arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze imposed by the UN Security Council to end gang violence.

© 2024 AFP