At least 3,661 killed in ‘senseless’ gang violence in Haiti this year: UN | Issues of Armed Groups

The UN rights chief has called for a crackdown on arms trafficking that fuels ‘crime’ and exacerbates humanitarian crisis.

At least 3,661 people have been killed in Haiti in the first half of this year amid the “senseless” violence that has engulfed 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 – which included 100 children – showed that the “high level of violence” of last year had been maintained.

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

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

The situation worsened at the end of February, when gangs attacked prisons and other government facilities in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The UN report documented “the most serious patterns of human rights violations and abuses occurring” in Port-au-Prince and the Department of Artibonite north of the capital.

It also followed escalating violence in the southern part of the Western Department, where the capital is located, an area of ​​the country that has not been affected until now.

According to the report, “gangs continued to use sexual violence to punish, spread fear and humiliate people”.

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

The OHCHR said poorly monitored airspace, coastlines and open borders allow criminal groups to access advanced weapons, drones, boats and a “seemingly endless supply of ammunition”.

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

Keeping the peace

The escalation of violence this year led to the unelected Haitian prime minister resigning, the creation of an interim presidential council, and the deployment of an international force supported by the UN, led by Kenya, called the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).

About 10 countries have pledged more than 3,100 troops to the MSS, but only 430 of these have been deployed so far, the OHCHR said.

The report was published days before MSS’ one-year mandate to support Haiti expires, and the UN Security Council is expected to vote on September 30 whether to renew it.

Haiti has asked the UN to consider turning it into an official peacekeeping mission to secure stable finances and energy.

Turk said that it is clear that the operation needs “adequate and sufficient assets and personnel to fight the gangs effectively and sustainably, and stop them from spreading and causing damage to 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 not even close to winning this, and the truth is that we will not succeed without your help,” she said.

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