UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Haiti is experiencing an unprecedented surge in gang violence, with the number of deaths, injuries and kidnappings more than doubling in the last year, the conflict-ridden Caribbean nation says. The country's UN special envoy made the announcement on Thursday.
“It is difficult to overstate the seriousness of the situation in Haiti, where multiple long-term crises have reached a tipping point,” Maria Isabel Salvador said in a grim briefing at the United Nations Security Council. Ta.
Human rights groups urge international community to help stop gang violence in Haiti
She said the 8,400 victims of gang violence recorded by the United Nations office last year – a 122% increase from 2022 – were mainly targeted by gangs in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
About 300 gangs control an estimated 80% of the capital and were responsible for 83% of the killings last year, Salvador said. But their tentacles have extended north into the Artibonite region, considered Haiti's food basket, and south of the capital, “gangsters have carried out large-scale attacks to seize key areas” and take control. She added that sexual violence was systematically used to achieve this goal.
The meeting came more than three months after the Security Council approved the deployment of a Kenya-led multinational force to curb gang violence.
Haiti is on the brink of anarchy as gang-controlled territory expands in the troubled Caribbean nation.
But deploying Kenyan security personnel faces a series of hurdles. Finally, the Kenyan parliament gave the go-ahead. And Kenya's Ambassador to the United Nations Martin Kimani told the council that a court verdict in a lawsuit brought by individuals seeking to block the deployment would be announced on Friday.
Kenyan authorities told The Associated Press last month that the first group of about 300 police officers is expected to arrive in Haiti by February, if the court allows their deployment. Kenya's contribution will eventually increase to 1,000 officers leading a multinational force of 3,000. Burundi, Chad, Senegal, Jamaica and Belize have committed to contributing troops to this multinational mission.
Haiti's national police are no match for gangs. There are fewer than 10,000 police officers on duty at any given time in a country of more than 11 million people.Ideally, there should be around 25,000 active duty officers, according to the United Nations.
Salvador told the council that according to data collected by his office, 795 new recruits will join the force in March, but about 1,600 officers will retire in 2023, leading to an increase in gang violence in the Haitian police force. The country's ability to fight back and maintain public order will be further weakened.
Haiti's Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Zineus said the country was at a “decisive crossroads, where Haiti's hopes for the future are at stake.”
“The Haitian people are tired of the brutality of armed groups,” he said, adding that the gangs were increasing their activity, perhaps fearing that a multinational mission would someday arrive.
“It's too many days that this much-needed aid still hasn't arrived. Too many days that we've been subjected to the hell these gangs have inflicted on us,” Genas said. “We hope for a swift and effective deployment as time is of the essence.”
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The Kenyan ambassador said that while awaiting the court's ruling, the government had made “significant progress” in preparing for the deployment, including sending an evaluation mission to Haiti.
Kimani said Kenya is preparing a planning meeting with other police contributing countries in mid-February and is working with partners to prepare a pledging meeting to mobilize resources for this mission. Ta.
