With Haiti “in the grip of total chaos”, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says "restoring a degree of public order" to prevent further harm to the population from violence and to ensure access to life-saving humanitarian assistance must be the immediate priority. Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Volker Türk also said that humanitarian corridors must be established as soon as possible.
In recent weeks, armed attacks have intensified in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, displacing at least 15,000 Haitians within the city and forcing more than 53,000 people to leave the capital.
“Haiti is in the grip of total chaos which started with civil unrest at the beginning of the year,” Türk said in a video message, noting that the already alarming situation in Haiti deteriorated in recent weeks as gangs launched attacks against police stations, prisons, critical infrastructure and other public and private facilities.
A state of emergency has been in effect since March 1, but while institutions have collapsed or are on the verge of collapse in the Caribbean nation, a transitional government has yet to be established after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation more than three weeks ago.
"The people of Haiti await anxiously the outcome of the talks to establish these transitional arrangements, which would eventually pave the way for elections. The deployment of the Security Council mandated Multinational Security Support mission is also urgent," the High Commissioner said.
“People in Haiti cannot wait any longer. The escalation of violence has had a devastating impact on the population. All human rights are impacted.”
Beginning in late February 2024, violence escalated in many neighborhoods of the capital, as gangs launched coordinated attacks aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Henry. Armed gangs intensified attacks on critical infrastructure, including prisons, police stations, the international airport, and the seaport in Port-au-Prince.
On March 11, Henry announced his resignation. Following his resignation, a transitional council will assume power. The proposal for a transitional council to govern violence-plagued Haiti emerged during a meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
In October 2023, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of a non-UN Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti. The mission's goal is to help the Haitian police curb rising gang violence and restore security in the Caribbean nation. It is unclear when the force will be deployed.
“All measures taken to restore security must fully comply with human rights standards,” Türk noted, adding that “humanitarian corridors must be established as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Haitians continue to flee Port-au-Prince, despite the dangers of using gang-controlled routes.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Monday that - between March 8 and March 27 - more than 53,000 people have sought safety outside of Port-au-Prince, with the majority heading to the southern departments of Grande'Anse, Sud, Nippes and Sud-Est. The southern departments already host more than 116,000 people who have fled the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in recent months.
In its report, the IOM stressed “that provinces do not have sufficient infrastructures and host communities do not have sufficient resources that can enable them to cope with these massive displacement flows coming from the capital.”
The UN agency estimates that there are at least 362,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country, including 180,000 children and more than 150,000 women.
The escalating violence has had a devastating impact on the population, with a shocking increase in murders and kidnappings. Between January 1 and March 20 alone, 1,434 people were killed and 797 injured in gang-related violence across the country. This was the most violent period since the UN Human Rights Office began monitoring gang-related violence two years ago.
“The scale of human rights abuses is unprecedented in modern Haitian history. Inflicting a humanitarian catastrophe on an already exhausted people,” Türk said.
Killings, kidnappings and sexual violence by criminal groups in and around Port-au-Prince had already increased sharply in 2023. According to the UN, at least 4,789 people were killed and 2,490 kidnapped in gang-related violence in Haiti last year.
Haiti has been in turmoil since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at his home in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petion-Ville on July 7, 2021.
Armed gangs now control or influence more than 90 percent of the capital and have spread to rural areas of the country. They have carried out massacres, kidnappings, human trafficking, and sexual violence. Recent attacks and violence by armed groups have plunged Haiti into a dramatic security crisis, with civilians under fire far beyond the capital.
In the midst of a worsening security crisis, hunger in Haiti has reached unprecedented levels. Some 4.97 million people - nearly half of the country's population - are now facing acute food insecurity, including more than 1.64 million people at the emergency level, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis.
As violence, skyrocketing inflation and poor harvests converge, Haiti is facing the worst food insecurity in its history. According to the IPC, the main reasons for this deterioration are increased gang violence, rising prices, low agricultural production due to below-normal rainfall, and the lack of previously planned humanitarian assistance.
On Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that gang attacks on healthcare facilities continue in the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area, further restricting access to health care people in and around the capital.
Armed groups have looted and occupied several hospitals, which are now unable to function, bringing the health system to the brink of collapse. Last week, ten pharmacies in the capital were looted, making it even more difficult for people to get their medicines.
Despite the dangerous security conditions, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have continued to distribute aid to the civilian population. On Tuesday, the World Food Programme (WFP) distributed hot meals to more than 27,000 people in Port-au-Prince. Last week, UNICEF, IOM, and local NGOs distributed nearly 300,000 liters of water.
Yet the crisis in Haiti is severely underfunded. Humanitarian organizations say that US$674 million are needed in 2024 to provide life-saving assistance to millions of people targeted. As of April 3, the UN Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Haiti is only 7 percent funded.
An estimated 5.5 million Haitians, nearly half the population, including 3 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
“The protection of children has to be of the utmost priority, including children recruited by armed gangs. This will require dedicated reintegration programs, including prolonged psychosocial support, and guaranteed access to quality education and health care,” Türk said
He also called for the international community to take stronger measures to prevent the illicit supply, sale, diversion or transfer to Haiti of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition.
“It is time to end the political deadlock, urgently to rebuild peace, stability and security in the country, and to provide Haitians with the hope that they so desperately need,” the High Commissioner said.
Further information
Full text: Video Statement by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 55th Session of the Human Rights Council, delivered on April 2, 2024
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/04/haiti-turk-reports-unprecedented-violations
Full text: Haiti — Populations Flow Monitoring — Impact of insecurity on movements of people from the capital to provinces #4 (08 -27 March 2024)
https://dtm.iom.int/reports/haiti-populations-flow-monitoring-impact-insecurity-movements-people-capital-provinces-4-08