On March 3rd, a state of Emergency was declared in Haiti – a country in the Caribbean Sea, after criminal gangs assumed state-control. Since then, human right violations in the country has alerted United Nations to intervene.
U.N steps into action to restore peace in Haiti
The International community has been calling for a coordinated effort to lift people out of crisis.
The fueling massive exodus of refugees to the U.S and Dominican Republic from Haiti has particularly constrained UN experts and Human Right Commissioners to restore peace in the country.
The U.N High commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, In his official statement on March 6th, called for restoring some degree of law and order as an immediate priority to further protect people from violence and provide access to humanitarian assistance.
U.N reported the soaring food-insecurity has left 4.97 million howl from hunger pains.
Despite the hazardous internal conditions, the World Food Programme has distributed 1,60,000 hot meals to calm stomach growls while World Health Organization has supplied emergency health stationaries.
Various organizations under United Nations have commenced series of steps in its efforts to end humanitarian crisis in Haiti and restore peaceful ‘transitional council’ in the country. The objective is to reinstate the political infrastructure where control is assumed by state authorities.
Despite support, U.N expert issues warning against Haiti crime
On April 12th, 2023. U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights designated William O’Neil as an expert on human rights in Haiti.
In his media address on 28th March 2024, William O’Neil, alarmed U.N on the seriousness of the issue, also acknowledging the steps undertaken by U.N up until now to decelerate the situation.
He voiced alarm over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Port-au-Prince where bulk of violence has been confined.
Expressing his utter shock over the complete evaporation of state authorities in the country, the UN expert, who has been travelling to Haiti for over 30 years now, said, the level of intensity and cruelty in the violence is something he has never experienced before.
William O’Neil suspected the motive of the criminal gang is to use fear from stopping deployment of foreign troops in the country while also intimidating politicians who are ferociously engaged in setting up a transitional council to choose new leaders and restore order.
He also reckon the total lack of government control in the nation has delivered solid statehood to gang’s lucrative illegal activities like extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping and gun-firing.
Despite his stony analysis, he hopes Kenya led multinational “security support mission” which will usher the deployment of 4,000 police troops in the nation will manage to retake key pieces of infrastructure such as airports, fuel terminal and the port.
The Rise of Haiti’s criminal gang
Criminal gang lead by Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier has discharged terror over Haiti population, killing many, and forcing many others to flee the country. The gang assumed control over the state after its political structure collapsed.
Haiti held its last elections in November 2016 when Jovenel Moïse was announced President. Since his assassination in his Port-au-Prince home in 2021, the country’s political institutions derailed.
The condition exacerbated when prime minister, Ariel Henry, announced his resignation in the face of gang mutiny, leaving Haiti a ‘stateless’ state. With no authority control, the uprising tripled in its volume, legitimizing arms to unleash horror among the Haitians.
For a Haitian, a normal day constitutes of fully-armed gang leaders patrolling streets, launching attacks on public properties, schools, hospitals, banks and businesses.
The worsening human rights violations in the country’s capital – Port-au-Prince, where more than 1,500 people have been killed within the first three months of 2024 and some 50,000 displaced, has alarmed United Nations to exercise damage-control and restore peace.
