Saturday July 16 in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) declared at a press conference that the UN organization was deeply concerned by the worsening violence in Port-au-Prince as well as the increase in human rights violations committed by heavily armed gangs against the local population.

OHCHR notes that heavily armed gangs are increasingly sophisticated in their actions, carrying out simultaneous, coordinated and organized attacks in different areas. As part of their tactics, some gangs have prevented the local population from accessing basic necessities, such as drinking water and food. This has further aggravated the prevalence of acute malnutrition in the affected areas, especially among children.

From January to the end of June, the UN recorded 934 murders, 684 injuries and 680 kidnappings in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. Over a period of five days, from July 8 to 12, 2022, at least 234 people were killed or injured in the violence between rival gangs in Cité Soleil recalled the Spokesperson stressing "Most of the victims were not directly involved in gangs but directly targeted by gang members [...]"

Since the beginning of June, gangs have also attacked key institutions in Port-au-Prince, such as the courthouse and the port authority. Threats of attacks have also been reported against the Parliament, the penitentiary services, the National Bank, the Superior Court of Auditors "The State authorities seem overwhelmed by the situation: the institutions are paralyzed by the lack of resources, the corruption and violence, which promotes impunity. Although the Haitian National Police reacted quickly and as much as possible, but its limited resources did not make it possible to stem the violence", explained Jeremy Laurence adding "in this context, the OHCHR calls on those responsible, and those who support this armed violence, to end it immediately, as well as to respect the lives and livelihoods of all Haitians, most of whom live in extreme poverty”.

Note that in this context, the socio-economic situation which has become critical has provoked street demonstrations, contributing to further deterioration of the security situation.

While many residents have barricaded themselves in their homes, many businesses have closed, for fear of looting or reprisals.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37164-haiti-humanitarian-insecurity-prevents-un-agencies-from-providing-relief-in-cite-soleil.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37155-icihaiti-fuel-timid-resumption-of-activities-at-the-varreux-oil-terminal.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37149-haiti-flash-high-level-meeting-of-international-partners-to-discuss-durable-solutions-for-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37138-haiti-flash-thousands-of-brooklyn-residents-hostages-of-the-gang-war-cite-soleil.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37137-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-37125-icihaiti-cite-soleil-already-at-least-20-dead-and-50-injured-in-armed-clashes.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-37121-haiti-news-zapping.html

HL/ HaitiLibre