UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations Designated Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, William O’Neil, said Monday that at least 1.4 million people, largely in the capital Port-au-Prince, have been forced to flee their homes due to gang violence.
He told reporters at the daily UN press briefing that as a result, this has created an “unprecedented level of internal displacement.”
O’Neil, who ended a 10-day mission to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, said that the “ongoing human rights crisis creates massive suffering for the Haitian people, especially the most vulnerable.
The UN said that at least 26 gangs control up to 90 per cent of Port-au-Prince and some of the surrounding areas and that half of all gang members are children, under the age of 18.
They violently extort communities, carry out rape, murder, and kidnap some for ransom, all while fighting the beleaguered Haitian security forces for territorial dominance.
O’Neil said that thousands of people “remain trapped in areas controlled by gangs or along shifting frontlines,” facing what he described as “invisible borders”.
He said for young women and girls, those borders are even greater.
“They face discrimination for being girls, for living in gang-controlled neighborhoods, and for being poor. ‘I just want to live well and safely,’ one girl told me, ‘because this is my country,’” he told reporters.
Haiti is faced with a deepening humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the ongoing violence and frequent extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, as well as earthquakes.
The country also faces political uncertainty, having not had an elected president in office since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his private residence overlooking the capital on July 7, 2021.
Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) said it has registered 320 political parties and organizations for the election and is expected to publish the final list of qualified entities on March 26. It is hoped that elections will be held later this year.
As the UN’s Designated Expert, O’Neil’s role is to monitor human rights developments in Haiti and advise the Haitian government, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to assist in their efforts to ensure respect for – and the promotion and protection of – human rights.
He told reporters that he remains “deeply concerned about corruption, impunity and the weakness of accountability mechanisms,” and added that the country is facing “a difficult yet promising moment.
“If we can help Haiti address insecurity, fight corruption and impunity, and protect human rights, then everyone will prosper,” O’Neil added.
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