Reports about the situation in Haiti are becoming increasingly dire. Gangs are bringing the state to the brink of collapse, and many people are suffering from hunger. The number of victims of violence is increasing.
According to the United Nations, escalated gang violence in Haiti has cost more than 1,500 people their lives in the first three months of the year alone.
The situation in the Caribbean country is catastrophic and requires immediate action, according to a report published by the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva.
The number of victims of gang violence in the country with around eleven million inhabitants rose sharply last year to 4,451 killed and 1,668 injured, it said. This year it exploded again: by March 22nd, 1,554 deaths and 826 injuries were registered. In addition, there were 59 lynchings by self-defense brigades.
Existing hunger crisis is worsening
The violence by armed groups, which often have connections to politics and, according to the UN, control around 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, escalated again at the end of February. The security situation prevented interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning from a trip abroad, and he announced his resignation. The existing hunger crisis also worsened.
A new interim government has not yet been formed. A multinational security mission approved by the UN Security Council, which the UN report says is urgently needed, has not yet materialized. Along with other diplomats, the German ambassador left the country. Citizens of several countries were evacuated, including at least five Germans and their families.
According to the report, the escalation of violence led to an increase in human rights violations – including killings, kidnappings and rapes. Children are both victims of these acts and forced to commit gun violence themselves. The health system and state institutions in Haiti are on the verge of collapse. Police staff shortages, corruption and arms smuggling were also identified as problems.
Source: Stern
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