The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, Haiti’s criminal markets: mapping trends in firearms and drug trafficking, warns that a recent increase in arms seizures alongside intelligence and law enforcement reporting, suggests trafficking of weapons is on the rise. ‘Volatile situation’ “By providing a rapid assessment of illicit...
“The findings of this report are horrifying,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a visit to Haiti this week. “It paints a picture of how people are being harassed and terrorized by criminal gangs for months without the State being able to stop it. It...
“Violence continues to take a heavy toll on children’s lives in and around Port-au-Prince, and schools are no longer spared,” said Bruno Maes, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Haiti. “As children reel from the effects of armed violence, insecurity in Haiti shows no sign of abating.” ‘Huge impact’...
“Years of hard-fought recovery gains are being undone, and Haitians are grappling with setting the country back on a path to democracy,” said Helen La Lime, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti. Turf wars Briefing the 15-member Council, Ms. La Lime said more than 2,100 murders and some 1,300...
Addressing the Security Council, Ms. Mohammed underlined the UN Secretary-General’s call for support to the Haitian National Police, as set out in a letter to ambassadors in October. “I urge every country with the capacity to do so to give urgent consideration to the Haitian Government’s request for an...
Mr. Bauer believes that Haiti is facing an unprecedented crisis, which could get even worse. For this reason, he says, there is no time to waste. “It’s difficult to believe that a mere two hours’ flight from Miami, a staggering 4.7 million people – half of Haiti’s population – are...
Claudine* looks across a sweeping valley high above the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The lushness of the tropical vegetation, the cool fresh air and the low-hanging clouds are in stark contrast to the dusty, hot and suffocating backstreets of Petionville, lower down the valley, where four years ago she was the...
The outbreak began two months ago and is unfolding amid economic crisis and rising insecurity due to gang violence. Ninety per cent of confirmed cases have been in areas with a high burden of severe acute malnutrition. A ‘triple threat’ Children suffering from the condition, which is also known as...
The deadly but treatable disease has been spreading across the country and according to the latest Government figures published on 16 November there have been some 8,100 people admitted to hospital and over 170 deaths. Esterline Dumezil was trained by the Ministry of Public Health and Population and by the...
The High Commissioner said the Haitian Government also needed to provide a firm commitment to accountability, and the rule of law, after decades of “systematic corruption and rampant impunity”, which have led up to the country’s current paralysis. He warned Haiti has descended into the worst human rights and humanitarian...
A line of women carry rocks in the hands and on their heads as they descend to a gully on the side of a hill in southern Haiti. They are bringing the rocks so their community can build barriers which will slow down the flow of water across this verdant...
“When the earthquake struck, I had no idea what it was as I had never experienced something so loud and dramatic before. I thought it was an act of God and I was terrified. My whole house was shaking so I rushed outside with my daughter to see what was...