UN (AP) – The United Nations (AP) — The United States on Tuesday extended a ban on flights to Haiti's capital until September 8 due to an escalation of gang violence that UN human rights experts in the Caribbean say is more dire than ever.
The Federal Aviation Administration announcement extended the ban on US flights to Port-au-Prince, which began in November after gangs fired on three commercial aircraft. The first ban was set to expire on Wednesday.
William O'Neal, a UN Human Rights Commissioner expert who has just visited the country for the fourth time since being appointed two years ago, told UN reporters on Tuesday that gang violence is just as bad as “the pain and despair of the whole population.”
Despite efforts by Haitian national police and numerous multinational police forces led by Kenya, he said “the risk that the capital is under gang control is clear.”
“These violent criminal groups continue to extend and consolidate their retention beyond the capital,” O'Neill said. “They set fire to kill, rape, fear, homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals, places of worship.”
He said the gangs have infiltrated all areas of society.
The gang has been in power since the assassination of President Giovenel Moise in July 2021, and is currently estimated to control up to 85% of the capital.
O'Neill said more than a million people have been evacuated and they can't go anywhere. In makeshift camps, hunger and sexual violence are spreading, and “for many, it's a matter of survival,” he said.
He urged Haitian authorities to fight immunity and corruption that he said were the main obstacles to dismantling gangs. He also said police must be strengthened, but he said that the population is similar, with 9,000 to 10,000 in a country of 11 million people, while the neighboring Dominican Republic is around 50,000.
O'Neill calls for substantial strengthening of the multinational forces that began arriving in June last year, and now counts around 1,000 police officers. He said that 2,500 well-equipped powers could “have a major impact on gang control, dismantling and overwhelming.”
He said both the international forces and Haitian police would need more mobility, including helicopters and better ground vehicles, as well as night vision goggles and body armor.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently proposed to the UN Security Council that logistics and equipment for Kenya-led military forces, including drones, fuel, ground and air transport, will be funded by the UN budget in place of the current fund, which relies on voluntary contributions. The fund will be used to pay international police.
