According to the report, addressing the situation of insecurity in the Caribbean nation of Haiti must be given top priority.
The report calls on the country’s authorities and the international community to take further steps to ensure the safety of the general public and prevent further suffering.
“No more lives must be lost because of this senseless crime,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
Harassment, rape and threats
Armed group violence and insecurity continue amid ongoing political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges in Haiti.
The situation worsened in March (2024) when these armed groups launched coordinated attacks on key government targets. These include several police stations and two main prisons 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 abuses 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 have not been generally affected by violence.
In these six months, the number of victims of sexual violence including rape also increased. According to the report, armed groups continue to use sexual violence to punish, instill fear and control the population.
Employment of children, recovery from farmers
Meanwhile, 860 people including 36 children were killed and 393 injured in the police operation in the capital. Questions have also been raised about the 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 armed groups extort farmers to farm and often come to their farms with guns and other weapons and steal their crops and livestock.
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 food shortages.