On Thursday, May 21, 2026, Vanessa Frazier, UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters following her first fact-finding mission to Haiti, estimated that children now make up nearly half of the gang members who de facto control vast areas of the country.

Ms. Frazier explained that growing up in Haiti means daily struggle to survive, live in constant fear, and be subject to intimidation, violence, family separation, displacement, and trauma as gangs take advantage of the vulnerability of these children." She emphasized that "In 2025 alone, the recruitment and use of children nearly tripled."

At the same time, the killings, mutilations, and abductions of minors nearly doubled, and sexual violence also became commonplace, increasingly used deliberately to sow terror and punish communities.

"I stressed in all my meetings that children encountered during security operations must be treated first and foremost as victims," said Ms. Frazier. "They must be swiftly handed over to child protection services for care, protection, and reintegration."

For children suspected of having committed serious crimes, Ms. Frazier clarified, "international juvenile justice standards apply, with detention only as a last resort."

Efforts to promote the long-term reintegration of children are also being intensified, particularly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and in Les Cayes, where a center is being renovated to accommodate up to 600 children separated from gangs.

The broader humanitarian and protection crisis is exacerbating the suffering of children. Many of them live in areas entirely controlled by armed gangs, cut off from school, healthcare, and basic protection services.

"I was informed that 18,000 schools were either destroyed, damaged or non-functional because of the gangs," she said, creating conditions that isolate children and significantly increase their vulnerability to recruitment, exploitation, and abuse.

"No child should have to grow up in such conditions," Ms. Frazier said.

"I met young children and adolescents who were already in a situation of vulnerability within their own homes and had gone through an uninterrupted cycle of violence inside and outside their homes [...] They told me they want only one thing: to go to school, to play, to learn, and simply to be children again. Even in the darkest moments, Haitian children continue to show extraordinary resilience. They deserve more than survival - they deserve the chance to grow, to dream, and to reclaim their childhood."

HL/ HaitiLibre