The report says that dealing with the situation of insecurity in the Caribbean country Haiti will have to be made a top priority.
The report urges the country’s authorities and the international community to take more action to ensure the safety of the general public and prevent further suffering.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said, “Not yet another life must be lost because of this senseless criminality.”
Harassment, rape and threats
Violence and insecurity from armed groups persist amid ongoing political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges in Haiti.
The situation became worse in March (2024) when these armed groups launched coordinated attacks on important government targets. These included several police stations and two main prison buildings in the capital, Port au Prince.
This report includes information on the situation in Haiti for the first six months of this year. It details a very serious pattern of human rights violations and oppression in the capital and the country’s largest agricultural region – Artibonite.
Gang violence has also spread to the western parts of the country, which until now had generally been unaffected by violence.
During these six months, the number of victims of sexual violence, including rape, has also increased. The report said armed groups continued to use sexual violence to punish, spread fear, and control populations.
Recruitment of children, recovery from farmers
Meanwhile, 860 people were killed and 393 injured in police operations in the capital, including 36 children. Issues have also been raised about unnecessary and disproportionate use of force in these operations. Armed groups have also recruited large numbers of children to use in their fight.
Reports say that armed groups have also extorted money from farmers to do farming and have often come to their farms with guns and other weapons and stolen their crops and cattle.
Due to attacks by armed groups, farmers have had to abandon up to 3,000 hectares of their crops and move to less fertile but safer areas, leading to a food crisis.