the country is in the grip of a “cataclysmic” situation, warns the UN

The situation in Haiti is “cataclysmic”with 1,554 people killed during the first three months of 2024, alerted the UN on Thursday March 28, deploring that the “porous borders” facilitate the supply of weapons and ammunition to gangs.

“It is shocking that despite the horror of the situation on the ground, weapons continue to flow. I call for more effective implementation of the arms embargo”estimates the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in the presentation of a new report.

Haiti, which was already experiencing a deep political and security crisis, has been gripped by renewed violence since the beginning of the month, when several gangs joined forces to attack strategic locations in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow the Prime Minister. Minister Ariel Henry.

“State institutions (…) on the verge of collapse”

Highly contested, the latter was unable to return to his country after a trip to Kenya at the beginning of the month. He agreed to resign on March 11, and the future Haitian presidential council, which must take the reins of the country, committed Wednesday to restoring “public and democratic order”.

In its report, the UN indicates that “corruption, impunity and poor governance, compounded by increasing levels of gang violence, have eroded the rule of law and brought state institutions (…) to the brink of collapse”. The Office notes that despite the arms embargo, “illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition across porous borders has provided a reliable supply chain for gangs”so that“they often have greater firepower than the Haitian national police”.