Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday that Haitian gangs are strengthening their ranks by recruiting more boys as child soldiers, while girls are forced into domestic slavery where they are sexually abused. reported being forced to serve.
“Hundreds or hundreds of children in Haiti, suffering from hunger and poverty, have joined criminal organizations in recent months, where they are forced to commit illegal activities and are exposed to abuse,” HRW said. Announced. said.
The report finds that in response to increased international support for the United Nations Multinational Security Assistance (MSS) and the Haitian National Police (HNP), criminal organizations are increasingly recruiting children to expand their organizations. he pointed out.
Gangs have large numbers of children to recruit and abuse. Almost 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, is now controlled by gangs and warlords, with half a million children under their control.
“Although official figures are not available, human rights and humanitarian organizations and government officials estimate that at least 30 percent of members of criminal groups are children,” HRW noted with alarm. “Children participate in a wide range of criminal activities, from extortion and looting to serious acts of violence, including murder and kidnapping.”
UNICEF warned Until then in June half Some of the soldiers in some gangs are children. Gangs like to use them as observers and in confrontations with police. UNICEF feared the problem was worsening as gangs disrupted humanitarian aid shipments and further increased hunger, which they could use to recruit children.
HRW researchers spoke to several children who were recruited into thousands of Haitian criminal organizations. Boys forced to serve as soldiers cited starvation as the main reason for enduring it. For some, involvement with gangs was the only way to feed their families.
As for girls, young Haitians told HRW that gang bosses have developed a taste for raping children, to satisfy their appetites and to demonstrate their power. , that they inspire each other to greater acts of cruelty and debauchery.
“They rape them. Anyone, not just their bosses, can rape them if they want to. '', one child soldier said of girls taken by gangs.
Other witnesses said gangs stopped feeding young sex slaves and threw them away if they became pregnant.
Child soldiers in Haiti say they are routinely threatened with violence and death if they hesitate to follow their superiors' brutal orders. UN officials have supported these claims by documenting numerous summary executions and lynchings of children since early 2024.
Child soldiers also face death in battles with other gangs, Haitian police, and vigilante groups that have emerged in Port-au-Prince.
Gangs have made it no secret that they recruit children. One prominent gang leader is known as: create It touts young recruits with slick rap videos and boasts of having a “specialized unit” that trains children in the use of deadly weapons.
“To stem the violence, the transitional government must improve the lives of children by providing them with protection, access to necessary goods and services, including education, and legal opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration. ,” advised Natalie Cotlino, crisis and conflict researcher at HRW.
