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UN rights report documents surge in violence, kidnappings and displacement in Haiti
Summary
A UN human-rights quarterly report covering April–June said at least 1,520 people were killed and 609 injured in armed violence, with widespread kidnappings and other abuses; displacement in central departments has risen sharply.
The United Nations human-rights office published a quarterly report on the human-rights situation in Haiti, and the findings were summarized at a UN press briefing.
The report covered April through June and said at least 1,520 people were killed and 609 injured in armed violence, primarily in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, followed by Artibonite and other departments. The report recorded at least 185 kidnappings and 628 victims of reported gender- or sexual-violence-related crimes (the transcript redacted the specific term used). The briefing said criminal groups have expanded and intensified attacks outside Port-au-Prince, and that abuses by criminal groups accounted for more than 24 percent of people killed or injured during the period.
The report said a majority of deaths and injuries documented occurred during security-force operations against criminal groups, and that more than a third were the result of strikes using explosive drones. The human-rights office called on the Haitian government, with international support, to strengthen efforts against gangs while respecting human-rights standards and use-of-force limits. The briefing repeated an appeal to the international community to support the full deployment of a multinational security support mission and to intensify efforts against arms trafficking.
Separately, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs cited data from the International Organization for Migration showing that more than 45,000 people have been displaced in central departments since June; in total nearly 240,000 people were reported displaced in those two departments, and 55 percent of the newly displaced are women. The briefing said the humanitarian response remains critically underfunded. UNFPA and partners have provided reproductive-health and gender-based-violence services to more than 12,600 people in the past two months, the briefing said.
The human-rights office urged strengthened international support for security, rule-of-law measures and efforts to curb arms trafficking while emphasizing compliance with human-rights standards.
