Friday, February 18, during the Session of the Security Council on the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) Helen La Lime, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and Head of BINUH presented the periodic report of the Office ( every 120 days) on the situation in Haiti, outlining the main developments since the last report and providing an update on the implementation of BINUH's mandate.

A report that paints a bleak picture of the situation in Haiti...

In her intervention regarding insecurity in Haiti, Ms. La Lime said "As we speak, gang violence continues to plunge major urban centers into lawlessness and grief. Criminal armed groups have a strong hold on the economic and social lives [...] Their indiscriminate use of abduction, murder, as well as sexual and gender-based violence as a means to terrorize local populations in the fight to extend their territorial control is particularly abhorrent.

To stem this ever-growing wave of violent crime, the Haitian National Police has, within its limited capacity, sought to improve the effectiveness of its anti-gang operations, adopt a more balanced approach between prevention and repression, and rely on an increased police presence in sensitive areas, an approach which yielded modest temporary results in zones such as Croix-des-Bouquets in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Yet an over-stretched, understaffed, and under-resourced police force cannot on its own curtail the alarming rise in gang-generated insecurity. To provide it with much-needed relief, the Government, Haiti’s international partners, and the United Nations have jointly resolved to strengthen international support and coordination of assistance to the institution, with a view to ensuring its effective and structured long-term development. In order to address the gaps that ail the police, this newfound momentum, epitomized by the imminent creation of a multi-donor basket fund, must now translate into increased government funding for the force as well as additional international financial and technical support [...]"

Excerpts from the report :

Within the framework of object #2 "Violence reduction" the report stipulates :

"[...] gang-related violence has remained the predominant threat to security in Haiti, with armed groups continuing to attempt to expand their zones of influence, in particular in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

[...] gangs have strength ened their territorial and political foothold in strategic areas in and around Port -au-Prince, which effectively empowers them to obstruct the country’s main supply routes and fuel terminals at will.

[...] In the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of Martissant (West Department), where an inter-gang conflict has been raging for over six months, civilians continued to be deliberately and indiscriminately targeted.

[...] The reporting period saw a rise in both kidnappings for ransom and intentional homicides, which increased by 180 and 17 per cent, respectively, compared with 2020.

[...] In reaction to these trends, the Haitian National Police undertook enhanced anti-gang operations, which yielded limited, though occasionally noteworthy, results, including the arrest of several known gang leaders. Gangs then retaliated with violent, coordinated attacks on police stations.

Accompanying the expansion of gang influence, human rights violations associated with armed violence increased in the metropolitan area of Port -au-Prince. More than 500 individuals, including 40 women and children as young as 5 years of age, were killed between 1 September and 31 December [...]"

Download the full report (English PDF 15 pages): https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/binuh_report_of_the_un_sg_-_15_february_2022.pdf

HL/ HaitiLibre