In the report, the UN Human Rights Office shows how “corruption, impunity and poor governance, exacerbated by increasing gang violence, have undermined the law and brought state institutions to the brink of collapse”.
Gang violence has intensified in recent weeks, with heavily armed gangs unleashing waves of attacks, including attacks on police stations and the international airport.
Cruising
The report shows that there were 4451 murders last year, and 1554 murders so far this year up to 22 March.
People are killed in their homes because they are believed to be supporting the police or rival gangs, or in the open street because they are caught in crossfire or shot by snipers.
In addition, 528 people suspected of ties to the gangs were lynched last year, and a further 59 were killed by armed brigades who took it upon themselves to fill the vacuum left by the police.
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– All this is outrageous
The report also describes widespread sexual violence, including forcing women to have sex with gang members, the rape of hostages and of women after their husbands are killed in front of them.
– All this is outrageous and must end immediately, says UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in connection with the publication of the report.
Haiti has long been affected by gang violence, but it really took off in February when several gangs joined forces to demand that Prime Minister Ariel Henry be ousted.
Despite the fact that an international arms embargo has been introduced, weapons and ammunition continue to flow into the country in torrents through the porous borders.
Tags: situation Haiti cataclysmic
