UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : HRC58 - Human rights in Haiti

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In in 5 minutes.

I'm sorry.

And we will start with the video message of Mr William O'Neill, independent expert.

Good afternoon, excellencies.

Ladies and gentlemen, I regret that I cannot be with you today.

My message to you is the same whether in person or remotely.

The situation in Haiti requires immediate and decisive action.

There is not another day to waste.

I visited Haiti from 2nd to 8th of March on my 4th official visit as the designated Expert.

I have lived and work in Haiti periodically since the first UN Human rights mission there in 1993.

Human rights violations have reached a scale and intensity that I have never seen before in Haiti.

The fear is palpable in people's eyes and in their voices.

The capital is almost entirely controlled and surrounded by gangs, making Port-au-Prince a large open air prison.

There is no Safeway to enter or leave the capital except by helicopter.

Gangs are invading previously safe neighbourhoods, killing, ****** and burning houses, businesses, churches and schools.

I saw steel barriers on roads leading into the few safe neighbourhoods.

Remaining armed men guard these gates and control who leaves and enters.

In some cases they **** and burn the bodies of people they suspect of being gang members.

The tribute pay the price paid by children remains enormous.

Millions of them have witnessed violence that no child should ever have to see.

Hundreds of thousands of them have not been able to go to school safely.

The new school year has been disrupted and children have suffered further delays.

Young girls who have survived sexual violence have told us of the horrors they suffered at the hands of gangs.

However, like for many Haitians, they have not been broken by the gangs.

A survivor told us that she dreamed of becoming a psychologist to be able to help other survivors of sexual violence.

This is what gives me hope.

Despite the catastrophic situation and the horrific statistics on the human rights abuses, the Haitian people remain unbowed.

They will not give up, and neither should we.

The crisis in Haiti is challenging, but it can and it must be addressed.

The solutions are straightforward and well known.

The nations of the world must provide the multinational support mission led by Kenya what it needs to succeed in buttressing the Haitian National Police.

That means more personnel, helicopters, more and better vehicles, better protective gear and night vision goggles.

The sanctions regime authorised by the Security Council must be ramped up quickly.

The financial, political backers of the gangs must pay a price for their crimes, freeze bank accounts, seize assets on all visas.

They must face justice and be held accountable.

Private sector actors have told me that the powerful elites benefiting from the violence fear these sanctions.

The international community must do more to help stop the flow of weapons and ammunitions into Haiti.

The gangs could not survive very long without them.

I welcome the recent seizures in the Dominican Republic of several large shipments of guns and bullets destined for Haiti, and also the recent conviction in U.S.

Federal courts of several arms traffickers involved in shipments to Haiti.

But we need more vigorous action.

I urge this Council to mobilise all available resources to contribute to the humanitarian appeal for Haiti, which remains underfunded.

Fewer and fewer Haitians enjoy access to the rights to education, adequate shelter, healthcare, clean food, clean water and food.

There's a human rights emergency in Haiti.

The time for action is now.

If we wait much longer, there could be precious little left of Haiti to save.

Thank you, Mr **** Commissioner, you have the floor.

Mr.

President, Excellence is the human rights situation in Haiti has reached yet another crisis point.

When I last visited Haiti, I heard communities calling out for help, exhausted and frightened from years of violence, insecurity and unbearable precarity.

In the two years since then, the situation has dramatically worsened.

Their plea must be heard.

Gangs are spreading into what were once gang free areas in Port-au-Prince and it's outskirts and are capturing key territory and infrastructure.

Gangs have united to launch coordinated attacks, armed with powerful weapons and in some cases outnumbering and out powering national security forces.

Gangs are killing ordinary people, brutally punishing those who defy their rules or are suspected of collaborating with the police or self defence groups.

I have to pause here for a minute because I'm not sure that the usual description of gang violence captures the amount of unbearable suffering that has been inflicted on the Haitian people.

The report before you details how the use of trafficked firearms and different forms of ammunition are fuelling A destructive cycle of violence, leading to severe human rights violations and abuses.

Reports estimate that between 270,000 and 500,000 firearms are circulating illegally in Haiti, with most weapons in the hands of gangs.

These weapons, which are increasingly sophisticated, are not manufactured in Haiti but consistently flowing from elsewhere.

Full implementation of the Security Council's arms embargo, as well as it's targeted asset freeze and travel ban is absolutely critical.

During the reporting period between one July 24 and 28 February 20, five, 4239 people were killed and 1356 injured.

Our office estimates that 90% of the casualties resulted from the use of firearms.

Several mass killings were documented.

For example, during five Days five days in early December, at least 207 people were killed by gangs controlling the Wharf Jeremy neighbourhood of City Soleil.

The The Vivian Somme Gang Coalition and others have destroyed public institutions including schools, orphanages, healthcare centres and courts, attacked media outlets and humanitarian actors, and ransacked businesses.

The ubiquitous presence of guns is central to their use of violence.

Sexual violence, including collective **** and sexual exploitation, is increasingly used by gangs as a tool to coerce communities and assert their dominance under the ****** of arms.

Many victims were attacked in homes, while others were abducted, raped in public spaces, or seized while travelling on public transport.

Several victims were shot dead after being raped.

Services for survivors remain extremely scarce.

The office has also documented the first recruitment, exploitation and trafficking of children by gangs.

My office has documented more than 700 kidnappings.

All were carried out by people with guns.

Those who attempted to resist abduction were often shot dead.

Mr.

President, gangs are implementing their own form of governance in the areas under their control.

Despite significant efforts by the Haitian National Police, gang attacks are challenging the state's control over remaining territory and its ability to regain territories from the gangs.

During the reporting period, more than 2000 people were killed or injured in law enforcement operations against gangs, a 60% increase compared to the previous six month period.

Almost 1/3 of those killed were hit when they were not involved in acts of violence, often struck by stray bullets while in the streets or at home.

My office has documented at least 219 cases of summary executions by specialist police force units during the reporting period, which is a substantial increase from 33 in 23.

Lynching of gang members by self defence groups and spontaneous angry mobs, sometimes facilitated or witnessed by Haitian police officers, have increased over the past few months.

As the Haitian National Police and the Multinational Security Support Mission are overwhelmed and lack resources, I urge States quickly to advance the deployment of this mission.

UNHCR is providing advice to the mission in relation to the development and implementation of the human rights compliance mechanism requested by the Security Council.

Corruption continues to be widespread in state institutions, including the judiciary and the police, which impedes their efficiency and the delivery of crucial services and impunity for human rights violations deeply erodes public trust.

Mr.

President, the catastrophic humanitarian situation is deepening.

More than 1,000,000 people have been displaced in Haiti, many multiple times, 40,000 of whom have been forced to move in the past few weeks alone.

One in every two Haitians, 5.5 million people face acute food insecurity.

2 million people face emergency levels of hunger.

Nearly 60.

Nearly 6000 displaced people are living in famine like conditions.

The impact on children is particularly devastating.

Over half a million children are displaced, 50% more than in September 24.

Nearly one in four children in Haiti suffers from standing due to malnutrition will which will impact them for life.

Only half of health facilities are fully operational in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, with 31% forced to close due to insecurity over the years.

Amidst all of this, the political transition which held so much hope is hanging by a thread.

Mr Le President, Electsis President, there is a solution to this disaster.

It will be possible to do that if there is ongoing support and political determination, both by the authorities of the country and the entire international community.

Restoring security is vital and the root causes of the crisis need to be tackled.

The corruption and insecurity went a long way to fueling this crisis, and that's why we must focus our attentions.

The international community must support the transitional authorities in eradicating corruption within state bodies and institutions, as that has been the cancer that led to this crisis.

And we also need to tackle impunity, because impunity is just a perfect breeding ground for crime.

So stats need to be taken to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes, including crimes against humanity, are held accountable.

And so I held the recent decision of the transitional Haitian authorities to set up two specialised judicial units to deal with cases dealing with serious violations of human rights and crimes against positive crimes against humanity, including sexual violence and financial crimes.

There is, of course, still a long way to go to guarantee justice and to put an end to the cycle of senseless violence.

And I urge the authorities of Haiti to work together to ensure that the political transition can prosper.

To the of all Haitians, step here is to stop the illicit flow of arms into the country.

And without sustained action on the factors that are perpetuating this chaos, any gains in security or stability will be temporary.

And I call on each and everyone of you, including the media, to put the spotlight on this crisis so that the intolerant suffering and destruction can end.

The Haitian people cannot be forgotten.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

In line with our practise, we will begin by hearing from the delegation of the country concerned.

And so I will give the floor to the distinguished representative of Haiti.

Madam, you have 5 minutes.

Thank you very much.

President, President, **** Commissioner, Independent Expert, Your Excellencies, we thank the **** Commissioner for the presentation of his very comprehensive report and we pay tribute to the constant and unwavering dedication of the Independent Expert as he seeks to promote the cause of human rights in Haiti.

This report, which is rigorous and clear sighted and pulls no punches, confronts us with a painful reality.

It testifies to the courageous work of documenting what is occurring in extremely challenging circumstances.

The content of the report goes beyond mere dry description of the indicators of a crisis and shed light on a nation that is subject to multiple forms of suffering, a people who have been deeply afflicted but who nonetheless continue to fight to uphold their dignity and their survival.

The report refers to more than a million displaced persons, to children unable to go to school, to women and girls are the victims of unspeakable violence, of a healthcare system on the brink of collapse.

It reminds us that in Haiti the most fundamental human rights, the rights to life, security, safety, health, education and justice, are today being sorely tested.

For several months now, our country has been caught up in a multidimensional crisis covering the security, humanitarian, institutional dimensions, and this at an unprecedented magnitude.

Armed gangs working together in coalitions control entire swathes of our national territory, attack institutions, block access to essential services and so terror.

Between July of 2024 and February of 2025, more than 4200 people were killed, of whom 600 were women and 150 were children.

Despite that, we are holding firm, we're holding the line, we are resisting.

Since the installation of the transitional government, we have spearheaded several different actions, including training for new police officers, a third of whom are women.

The reopening on a partial basis of some of the state institutions, the establishment of a committee responsible for defining a new national strategy to tackle and eradicate corruption, the reopening of the Court of First Instance in Port au France and the creation of specialised judicial units.

The progressive deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission, although currently limited, does nonetheless send a very clear and strong message.

Haiti is not alone.

We welcome the work of the **** Commissioner, for which we're grateful and take note, with a with a commitment to act thereon of the recommendations contained in the report.

They will constitute a very useful basis for strengthening and bolstering our actions.

We hope to continue our close collaboration with the United Nations, with its specialised agency and with our bilateral partners to ensure the effective implementation of the aforementioned recommendations.

Whether it's a question of strengthening the capacity of our police and providing specific training and human rights, or setting up specialised judicial units aforementioned, or rolling out mechanisms for the protection of the most vulnerable in society, none of that can we do alone.

And that's why we launched an appeal today for a structured, coherent, consistent and sustainable humanitarian partnership to supporters.

We need strong and robust support in order to ensure that we can guarantee secure access for humanitarian aid to the most affected regions of the country.

Such a humanitarian partnership would allow us to respond to the urgent needs in terms of healthcare, access to safe drinking water, to food and to accommodation for displaced persons.

It would also enable us to protect children from being recruited forcibly by armed groups or from being exploited.

It would allow us to provide support to the victims of sexual violence and trauma and to establish the minimum conditions for the resumption of educational economic services.

We call upon the UN agencies Alter, the WFP, UNICEF, The Who, the IOM and the UNHCR, as well as other organisations present in Haiti to expand their presence and to coordinate their actions and efforts with the Haitian authorities.

Moreover, we_the pressing need for strengthened international support and commitment to curb the illicit trafficking in weapons.

Haiti is not a manufacturer of weapons.

However, 10s of thousands of weapons and firearms are circulating in our country and so we call upon Allstate members of this House to rigorously apply the embargo ordered by the Security Council and to strengthen their control and oversight over their supply chains and to act in a coordinated way to curb the flow of arms which fuels the violence in our country.

President, your Excellencies, we've heard the criticisms and we have taken them on board.

We're in no way complacent, but the calls for greater rigour need to go hand in hand with real support from our partners because human rights are defended on the ground in the field.

And to do that, we need resources, partnerships and shared determination.

Haiti is now to crossroads in it's history.

The road ahead of us to travel is a long one, but our determination remains in place and is in no way diluted.

Our people are bloodied but unbowed.

Our institutions are being rebuilt.

Our government is absolutely determined to restore the rule of law, to restore justice, and to respond to the essential needs of our people.

Together, let us act to restore to Haitians their fundamental right, that of living in security and safety, in dignity and in hope.

HRC58 - Human rights in Haiti - 28 March 2025