Violence of armed gangs in Haiti: The United Nations requests the “urgent deployment of a specialized force
Haiti, day by day, is plunging into a series of violence worsening the already precarious living conditions of the population.
In the capital, as in several regions of the country, armed gangs are imposing their laws by defying the forces of order.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that a total of 531 people were killed, 300 injured and 277 kidnapped between January and mid-March.
“We call on the international community to urgently consider the deployment of a time-limited specialized support force, in accordance with international human rights laws and standards, as part of a comprehensive and clear plan of action,” said Marta Hurtago, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner. The first two weeks of March appear to have been the deadliest, according to data collected by the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (UNIHRO): at least 208 dead, 164 wounded and more than a hundred people abducted.
In addition, Marta Hurtago expressed her concern about the climate of terror in the country. “We are seriously concerned that the extreme violence continues to get out of control in Haiti,” she said. She made her statements as part of a regular press briefing presented by the UN in Geneva.
This spiral of violence is leading to a wave of displacement and tends to get further out of control of the authorities. Nearly 160,000 people have been forced to abandon their homes and take refuge in precarious conditions with relatives or friends.
According to the United Nations, a quarter of them are living in makeshift camps. Martha Hurtago recalls that instability and gang violence have increased food insecurity in the country.
While the United Nations is making repeated unsuccessful appeals for help, permanent members of the international institution are still very reluctant. Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff, Wayne Eyre, clearly admitted that his country was not ready to lead a possible mission in Haiti given its commitments in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
As for Brazil, the country that led the multinational force deployed by the UN in Haiti, MINUSTAH, after the fall of President Jean Bertrand Aristide, sending Brazilian troops there is not obvious. In an interview with The Guardian earlier this year, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described the situation in Haiti as a massive crisis that is getting worse and worse.
“I think we have to look for other solutions – I don’t know if sending troops or a peacekeeping operation is the solution,” Vieira stressed. “And I think other countries could also participate.”
During an intervention at the headquarters of the Haitian Armed Forces on Friday, March 17, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, apparently disappointed by the less than reassuring responses from the international community, as a promise, had announced the mobilization of the Haitian military to fight the gangs that today control nearly 60% of the capital.