The humanitarian community in Haiti seeks the mobilization of the international community as the country witnesses the continued escalation of violence perpetrated by armed groups in Port-au-Prince and the Département Artibonite. According to a statement released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Thursday, the “world must act now to prevent further atrocities.”
In yet another escalation, between August 15 and 29 alone, renewed attacks by gangs and other armed groups resulted in at least 71 people killed and injured in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, OCHA said. Since January 2023, more than 2,500 people have been killed, almost 1,000 injured and at least 970 have been kidnapped.
Further serious human rights violations and abuses were reported, including kidnapping as well as sexual and gender-based violence against women, girls and boys. The latest wave of violence has resulted in the forced displacement of more than 10,000 people who have sought refuge in more than twenty spontaneous sites and host families.
Haiti has also seen an alarming increase in mob killings and lynchings of suspected gang members. Between April 24 and mid-August, more than 350 people have been lynched by local people and vigilante groups.
"The humanitarian community is deeply concerned about another escalation of violence of extreme brutality. Entire families, including children, were executed while others were burned alive. This upsurge in violence has caused unspeakable continued suffering of Haitians", said the acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator Philippe Branchat.
As the humanitarian situation in Haiti has deteriorated significantly in 2023, nearly half of Haiti's population needs humanitarian and food assistance.
Despite access challenges due to insecurity, humanitarian organizations are reaching the displaced people with immediate aid such as food, water, shelter, sanitation, health, and psychosocial support, particularly for victims of sexual violence.
Almost 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, a tenfold increase in two years. As population displacement has intensified, forced repatriations of vulnerable Haitians from neighboring countries, accompanied by serious human rights violations, have quadrupled compared to 2022.
“The humanitarian community calls on all actors in the crisis to put an immediate stop to the violence. The people in Haiti cannot continue to live trapped in their homes, unable to feed their families, find work and live in dignity. Children are unable to go to school. The world must act now to prevent further atrocities”, the joint statement said.
“We are committed to stand with the people in Haiti and assist in providing immediate assistance to alleviate human suffering. We call on all parties to provide immediate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access in all parts of the country and respect human rights, humanitarian norms and standards.”
The security crisis in the Caribbean country compounds an already dire humanitarian situation. The humanitarian situation in the country is increasingly grim and likely to deteriorate even further. The United Nations estimates that more than 5.2 million people - 46 percent of the population - require humanitarian aid this year. Among those in need are nearly 3 million children – the highest number on record.
Kidnappings, killings and gang violence have worsened the economic situation and increased insecurity, particularly in the capital. Gangs control or influence 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. They also control strategic access routes in the country and have expanded their criminal activities throughout Haiti. Armed groups commit serious abuses against the population, including large-scale sexual violence, forcing entire communities to flee.
More than 195,000 people have been internally displaced due to violence since 2022, and tens of thousands have attempted to flee the country. Despite repeated calls from the UN that Haitians should not be forcibly returned to Haiti, other countries have returned nearly 74,000 people to Haiti in the first half of 2023.
Violence, widespread poverty, rising costs of living, low agricultural production, and expensive food imports have exacerbated existing food insecurity in Haiti, leaving many women, men, and children suffering from hunger and malnutrition.
According to the latest IPC food security analysis, 4.9 million people - more than 40 percent of the population – are acutely food insecure. About 1.8 million people are suffering from emergency levels of hunger. The number of children suffering from severe wasting has risen to more than 115,000 across the country. Nearly a quarter of Haiti’s children are chronically malnourished.
The United Nations humanitarian response plan (HRP) for Haiti requires US$720 million to help more than three million people. Yet as of September 1, the HRP is only 26 percent funded. In July, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving emergency food assistance in Haiti by 25 percent, due to dwindling funding levels.
Further information
Full text: The humanitarian community in Haiti is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of violence, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, press release, published August 31, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/humanitarian-community-haiti-deeply-concerned-about-continued-escalation-violence