Faced with gangs extending their grip and “new records” of major crimes, some Haitians are living in a climate of never-before-seen danger, the UN warned on Monday, hoping for the deployment of an international force “while it is still time “.
“Unfortunately, the security situation on the ground continues to deteriorate as growing gang violence has plunged the lives of Haitians into chaos and serious crimes have increased sharply, reaching new records,” declared before the Security Council. UN security María Isabel Salvador, UN representative in the poor Caribbean country.
According to the UN Secretary General’s report on Haiti, published Monday, “major crimes, including intentional homicides and kidnappings, have experienced an unprecedented increase, mainly in the departments of Ouest and Artibonite “.
Between July 1 and September 30, national police reported 1,239 homicides, compared to 577 during the same period in 2022. And from July to September, 701 people — including 221 women, 8 girls and 18 boys — were kidnapped , or 244% more than in 2022 at the same period. Maria Isabel Salvador notably mentioned the kidnapping last week of the secretary general of the High Council of the Transition “in broad daylight by gang members disguised as police officers”.
The UN is also concerned about the murders perpetrated by self-defense groups that appeared last spring: “388 people were lynched between April 24 and September 30 because of their presumed membership in gangs. »
“On the verge of collapse”
According to another report by UN experts responsible for monitoring the sanctions regime currently targeting a single gang leader, these armed groups control 80% of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, and “the 20 The remaining % are not safe from their incursions either.” They also control the roads leading to the capital.
“It is estimated that 2 million people, including 1.6 million women and children, live under their control,” said UNICEF boss Catherine Russell, emphasizing the “terrifying violence” of gangs. , including sexual violence against women and girls.
“Basic services are on the brink of collapse and in some communities life is more dangerous today than it has ever been,” she added, noting that half the population , including 3 million children, need humanitarian aid that half cannot receive due to lack of funding and security.
Thanks to arms trafficking mainly from the United States, these gangs are better armed than the outdated Haitian police. “Using their superior firepower, criminal groups are expanding the territories they control and targeting critical infrastructure, including ports, oil terminals, airports, grain warehouses,” said Ghada Waly, director general of the Office of United Nations Against Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
After a year of procrastination, the UN Security Council gave the green light in early October to the deployment of a multinational, non-UN mission, led by Kenya, to help the Haitian police.
This green light has “raised a glimmer of hope to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is not an oncoming train,” added María Isabel Salvador. But Kenya and the other countries that will participate in this force, the contours of which are still unclear, have yet to develop the mission’s operating plan and no deployment date has been put forward.
“I encourage Member States to take the necessary measures to allow the deployment of the mission while there is still time to bring about a de-escalation of violence,” pleaded the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, in his report.