“Tackling insecurity in Haiti, where hundreds have been killed, injured, or displaced as a result of gang violence, must be the utmost priority,” said spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani at the biweekly press briefing in Geneva.
Latest figures documented by the UN Human Rights Office indicate that at least 3,661 people have been killed since January this year*, maintaining the high levels of violence seen in 2023.
“No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality,” Shamdasani said.
There have been 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 Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).
“It is clear, however, that the Mission needs adequate and sufficient equipment and personnel to counter the criminal gangs effectively and sustainably and stop them spreading further and wreaking havoc on people’s lives,” the spokeswoman said.
To date, an advance contingent of approximately 430 MSS personnel has been deployed in Haiti. The UN Human Rights Office is supporting the MSS to establish and implement a compliance mechanism to ensure the mission’s operational framework and practice are aligned with international human rights standards and any potential violations are effectively addressed, in line with Security Council resolution 2699.
“Our report details extremely serious patterns of human rights violations taking place across the capital of Port au Prince, and in the Artbonite department, as well as in the southern part of the west departement which until recently had been largely unaffected by the violence.” Shamdasani said.
“The number of victims of sexual violence, including rape, also increased in the first half of the year. According to the report, gangs have continued to use sexual violence to punish, spread fear and subjugate populations,” she highlighted.
During the reporting period, at least 860 people were killed and 393 injured during police operations and patrols across Port-au-Prince, including at least 36 children, in what could constitute use of unnecessary and disproportionate force, the report says. The gangs have also recruited large numbers of children into their ranks.
In Artibonite, the country’s agricultural heartland, increasing gang violence and extortion have forced farmers to abandon more than 3,000 hectares of land, further imperiling Haiti’s food production, at a time when an estimated 1.6m people in the country face emergency-level acute food insecurity.
“The UN High Commissioner Volker Türk is urging the Haitian authorities to take robust steps to strengthen the police and other state institutions crippled by endemic corruption, including the judiciary, if the rule of law is to be restored and those responsible for violations and abuses held to account,” said Shamdasani.
The High Commissioner is also calling on the authorities to protect children from gangs and to redouble efforts to tackle gender and sexual violence and to protect internally displaced people.
In addition, he urges the international community to comprehensively implement the targeted arms embargo, the travel ban, and asset freeze imposed by the UN Security Council, to stem gang violence in Haiti.
ENDS
* The figures have been updated beyond the June cut-off date of the report to the Human Rights Council.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence - +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Haiti: No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality
TRT: 01:42
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 27 September 2024 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur
Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.