Haiti: more than 5,700 victims of gang violence since the start of the year

At least 5,700 people have been killed or injured since the start of the year in Haiti, a country ravaged by gang violence, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned on Friday October 2.

“From January 1 to September 11, my office recorded at least 5,700 people killed or injured by gangs or during operations against them. The gangs also kidnapped more than 230 people and raped more than 1,000 women and girls,” Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding that the real figures are “probably much higher.”

The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has long been going through a political, economic and security crisis, but the situation has deteriorated significantly in recent years, with gangs increasing murders, kidnappings, rapes and recruitment of children. “Despite some success in containing their activities in certain areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the gangs continue to adapt and expand, reappearing in new areas,” notably in the west and southeast departments, explained Mr. Türk.

The High Commissioner also pointed out an “excessive and disproportionate use of force” by representatives of the order and “summary executions” carried out by “so-called self-defense groups” which according to him have killed or injured some 280 people since the start of the year.

He also denounced “a handful of powerful individuals” who “exploit and perpetuate the grievances of the population as well as the weakness of state institutions to serve their own interests.” “These actors have considerable strategies and resources,” he added, calling for sanctions to be extended to “all those who pull the strings in the shadows of criminal networks and profit from them.”

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council extended by six months the mandate of the force deployed in Haiti to fight against gangs, also insisting on the protection of children recruited by these groups and the organization of elections. This resolution renews until March 31, 2027 the Gang Repression Force (FRG), launched in April to respond to the worsening security crisis in the country. Several countries are represented there, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mongolia, Chad and Sri Lanka, which should be joined by others.