(2022-06) BINUH - Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti

S United Nations /2022/481 Security Council Distr.: General 13 June 2022 Original: English United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti Report of the Secretary-General I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2600 (2021), by which the Council extended to 15 July 2022 the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), in accordance with Council resolution 2476 (2019) establishing BINUH and requested me to report on the implementation of the resolution every 120 days. The report includes significant developments that have occurred since my previous report (S/2022/117) and provides an update on the implementation of the BINUH mandate. II. Political issues and good governance (benchmark 1) 2. Political divisions persisted among Haitian stakeholders regarding modalities for a process that could lead to the restoration of fully functioning democratic institutions through elections, and they continued to be unable to reach a much sought-after agreement on a common path towards constitutional reform. The Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, continued to encourage dialogue by engaging with political groups, trade unions, business sector associations and civil society actors, although limited progress has been made in that regard as stakeholders have yet to show a willingness to compromise on any of the central issues of contention. In a statement to the nation on 29 March, the Prime Minister reiterated that tackling insecurity was the top priority of the Government and a key factor for holding credible elections. The principal dilemma has been how to address the country’s governance and institutional crises in a deteriorating security context. 3. BINUH organized informal gatherings on 21 February and 9 March to help create space for political actors to exchange views on a common path towards elections. Those gatherings brought together participants from the national authorities and some members, who participated in their personal capacities, of the 11 September political agreement and the Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis (known as the Montana Group), signatories of the national memorandum of understanding and civil society and private sector representatives. 4. Following the gatherings, Haitian political and civil society stakeholders continued to meet and, on 31 March, agreed to form a tripartite committee composed of representatives of academia, faith-based organizations and the private sector. The 22-08548 (E) 150622 *2208548* S/2022/481 tripartite committee’s task is to broaden consensus towards national elections. By May, it had begun a process of nationwide consultations centred on five main themes: security, elections, constitutional reform, governance arrangements and humanitarian issues. The tripartite committee consulted with interlocutors from across various political and civil society sectors, including a coalition of former parliamentarians, representatives of the PetroCaribe Challenge initiative, Montana agreement signatories, national authorities, the 10 seated senators and non-aligned political parties. In addition, several dozen groups of community leaders, women’s organizations, trade unions, regional political parties and local authorities participated in online consultations held throughout the country. The Prime Minister voiced his support for the tripartite committee and encouraged all stakeholders to work with it. 5. Simultaneously, after months of tentative and often unsuccessful contacts, the Prime Minister held a series of direct talks with the leadership of the Montana Group, which proposed new modalities for the relaunching of formal negotiations. However, numerous challenges remain and it is too early to tell whether those bilateral talks will bear fruit. 6. On 31 March, the Mission hosted a lunch with Haitian women to discuss challenges to women’s participation in political life. Building on that event, on 7 April, BINUH hosted a symposium that was attended by the Minister for Women’s Affairs and Rights. The symposium, which was co-organized with several women’s organizations and supported by the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, capped off a series of consultations held across the country to collect gender-sensitive recommendations for addressing the current security situation. Participants highlighted the importance of community policing and suggested that key national institutions partner with civil society to mount a nationwide anti-violence campaign. They also spoke out against corruption and urged the Government to accelerate the implementation of crucial judicial sector reforms. 7. On 21 April, during a virtual meeting of the international partners of Haiti that was hosted by France, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Religion of Haiti underscored that addressing the issue of crime and strengthening State authority throughout the country were essential conditions for holding elections. Amid the continued uncertainty about finding a strong consensus regarding a path to elections, the Prime Minister has yet to appoint new members to the country’s Provisional Electoral Council, a key step in the implementation of the 11 September political agreement. However, on 1 June, the Office of the Prime Minister named an official responsible for authorizing Provisional Electoral Council expenditures, an appointment intended to facilitate the payment of salaries of electoral staff and the resumption of basic operations by the Council after months of inactivity. 8. On the regional front, the Prime Minister and several Cabinet members attended the Thirty-third Intersessional Meeting of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Belize on 1 and 2 March. The participants adopted a communiqué in which they expressed concern over the protracted political impasse, ongoing humanitarian crisis and mounting insecurity in Haiti, and the repercussions for the region of escalating instability. Following the meeting, the Government announced a pledge of $45 million by the Caribbean Development Bank to assist with earthquake recovery over the period 2022–2026. On 3 June, the Prime Minister, before leaving Port-au-Prince to participate in the Ninth Summit of the Americas, held in Los Angeles from 6 to 10 June, publicly stated that he would discuss with partners the most pressing issues facing Haiti, including security. In addition, he called on all Haitians to come together around a common project in the best interest of the country. 2/28 22-08548 S/2022/481 III. Violence reduction (benchmark 2) 9. The security situation continued to be marked by escalating gang violence, in particular kidnappings and violent killings in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, perpetuating a deep sense of trepidation among the city’s inhabitants. Despite underreporting of kidnappings and intentional homicides, the Haitian National Police nonetheless recorded 540 kidnappings from 1 January to 31 May 2022, an increase of 36.4 per cent, compared with 396 in the last five months of 2021, while the number of intentional homicides increased by 17 per cent, from 668 in the last five months of 2021 to 782 in the first five months of 2022. Those figures have continued to grow, reaching unprecedented levels. In May alone, 198 kidnappings and 201 homicides were recorded, mostly in West Department. In one incident, two busloads of children were kidnapped on 24 May. In addition, there were three incidents in which United Nations personnel and their dependents were kidnapped and another in which one national staff was killed in crossfire between gangs. 10. The national police relaunched community policing activities in some disadvantaged areas of Port-au-Prince and, beginning in January, started daily, large- scale police operations based on improved intelligence-gathering. These steps have led to the arrest of hundreds of gang members and individuals suspected of involvement in abductions, and the seizure of several hundred firearms and evidentiary material. 11. Clashes among gangs in the northern part of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area intensified and expanded to adjacent neighbourhoods near the end of April and at the beginning of May. On 24 April, violent fighting broke out between two rival gangs for territorial control in the Croix-des-Bouquets neighbourhood of La Plaine de Cul-de-Sac, while two other gangs vied for control of the Cité Soleil commune. The clashes reflect the evolution and new dynamic of gang alliances. Maintaining a strong posture in the affected areas, the national police deployed specialized units and conducted large-scale operations to restore law and order. The violence has adversely affected business activity and residents’ ability to meet their basic needs, leading to ever-worsening human rights abuses, including the recruitment of minors by armed gangs. The displacement of approximately 17,000 civilians fleeing these gang- affected areas resulted in the emergence of new camps for displaced persons near zones that relief services can access only with difficulty. 12. Residents of the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of Martissant and the communes of Croix-des-Bouquets, Tabarre and Delmas, where crime and violence remain most evident, also continued to demand decisive action by the Government against armed gangs. The persistence of violent crime, including abductions for ransom and homicides and criminal gangs’ continued blockade of national road 2 in the Martissant neighbourhood, stoked frustration in civil society, the private sector and opposition organizations. These groups organized several demonstrations during the reporting period. However, the overall number of civil unrest incidents decreased; the national police recorded 390 such incidents in the period from 1 January to 31 May, of which 349 were marked by some violence, compared with 457 such incidents in the previous reporting period. 13. To improve the security situation, the Prime Minister publicly committed to strengthening the national police and enhancing the effectiveness of anti-gang operations by improving the balance between prevention and enforcement. During a public ceremony on 14 April, the Government handed over 16 new vehicles and 200 new motorcycles to the national police to increase its operational capacity. In addition, it released additional funds for armoured vehicles, weapons and ammunition and police equipment. International donors continued to support the national police 22-08548 3/28 S/2022/481 through training and the provision of crime-fighting equipment. In recent months, the police have increased street checkpoints and patrols and intensified anti-gang operations to curb insecurity. 14. In view of the numerous operational, logistical and resource challenges facing the police force, the Prime Minister intensified his appeal for international support to bolster the force’s operational capacity and improve working conditions for officers. In response to that appeal, BINUH and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), under the leadership of my Special Representative, held consultations with national police leadership and coordinated with external stakeholders to identify priority areas for police development. These efforts resulted in the creation of a multi-donor “basket fund” to further the professionalization of the police force and enhance its ability to prevent and fight crime, strengthen the police force’s intelligence-gathering capacity and improve accountability and internal governance. The agreement covering the $28 million project was signed on 3 June by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and Public Security and the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, my Special Representative and the UNDP Country Director. So far, $7.8 million has been pledged in support of the project, while UNDP will contribute $300,000. Advocacy efforts to fund the project continue through the good offices of my Special Representative. 15. On 4 May, my Special Representative hosted a working lunch with representatives of the national police high command and civil society, including members of the working group on security, to discuss ongoing security challenges and identify possible areas of collaboration in the fight against gang violence. Participants stressed the impact of crime and violence on all sectors of Haitian society, in particular communities in gang-affected areas, where a general perception of heightened public insecurity has had negative repercussions for socioeconomic activity. The session fostered conversations on potential tangible measures to support the national police, including initiatives to boost officer morale and develop local information-sharing networks. 16. The inter-institutional task force on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and community violence reduction convened regularly at BINUH offices, with the technical and logistical support of several United Nations entities and multilateral and bilateral partners. In addition, the task force regularly organized meetings and working sessions with the national coordinator of the Office of the Prime Minister charged with leading the “whole-of-government” integrated effort on community violence reduction. 17. Progress was made on the implementation of the national action plan on weapons and ammunition management with the support of the task force, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, the Minister of the Interior and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Technical work on the Haitian draft law on weapons and ammunition is ongoing. Since February, 15 working sessions, organized in cooperation with UNDP, the Regional Centre and BINUH, have led to the revision of 7 of the draft law’s 17 chapters, in order to ensure that it meets international norms and standards. Regarding the CARICOM Roadmap for Implementing the Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030, the Regional Centre deployed a mission to Haiti from 10 to 21 May to help national authorities define priorities within the framework of the national action plan on weapons and ammunition management. In addition, the Regional Centre is preparing a national baseline assessment for the CARICOM Roadmap, with support from UNODC. As part of a joint UNDP-International Organization for Migration (IOM) project, it is anticipated that a plan being developed to improve the national police weapons and ammunition storage system and secure the central police 4/28 22-08548 S/2022/481 armoury will be completed by July. In addition, police officers from Haiti and the Dominican Republic held two meetings in April on strengthening cooperation against illicit trafficking in firearms. 18. In support of national efforts to reduce community violence, the United Nations continued to implement projects in vulnerable neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince. In March, BINUH conducted a midterm evaluation of a Peacebuilding Fund-supported community violence reduction project in Martissant and La Saline. The evaluation team, in the conclusions section of its report, highlighted the challenges posed by the acute deterioration of the security situation in these neighbourhoods, which has significantly undermined the project’s implementation on the ground. 19. Despite these challenges, results have been achieved with regard to community violence reduction. Thanks to activities funded by the Peacebuilding Fund-supported project, the infrastructure of the La Saline national high school, which, after a three- year closure, reopened in January thanks to the initiative of the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, was partially rehabilitated, allowing 1,173 students (670 girls and 503 boys) to resume their studies. Several other projects, which were completed in February, created a total of 1,905 temporary jobs (including 690 jobs for women), a greater number than the 1,700 initially planned. In addition, a cohort of 25 women started vocational training, while 156 participants (more than half of whom were women) were selected to undergo an entrepreneurship coaching programme and started the development of their business plans in May. Additional activities under the project are ongoing, including the finalization by the non-governmental organization Viva Rio of an evaluation of economic opportunities in those communities, with a view to supporting the integration of 90 youth beneficiaries into the labour market, and the creation by Entrepreneurs du Monde of 130 microenterprises with at-risk women. Initiatives aimed at fostering community dialogue and mediation are also under way as part of the same project. 20. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, efforts are under way to promote a more holistic, community-based approach to counter gang violence. A pilot effort in Cité Soleil is seeking to increase community outreach and deployment by the police while boosting service delivery by community-based organizations, with a view to expanding the approach to disadvantaged neighbourhoods nationwide. To that end, on 8 March, the acting Director-General of the Haitian National Police appointed a national coordinator for community policing. 21. The national police, together with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Civic Action, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and Viva Rio, with the support of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), UNDP, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and BINUH, organized a community sport event on 20 March in which a group of approximately 400 students, comprising boys and girls between the ages of 16 and 20, participated, and held a series of conferences in schools aimed at restoring trust and revitalizing dialogue mechanisms within the communities of Martissant and La Saline. 22. The Spotlight Initiative supported the training of 29 officials from Government institutions in gender-sensitive programming and budgeting, with a view to promoting greater involvement by the Government in the Initiative and reinforcing institutional capacity for protection of women and girls against violence. Furthermore, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Rights and partner women organizations have identified three safe spaces to be rehabilitated and converted into facilities that will provide, with the support of UNFPA, psychosocial assistance and a holistic response to victims of violence. 22-08548 5/28 S/2022/481 IV. Security and the rule of law (benchmark 3) 23. Almost one year after the assassination of the former President, Jovenel Moïse, on 7 July 2021, the investigation and prosecution of the case has stalled. Following the successive resignations of three investigating judges, a new judge was appointed in early March 2022. However, a disagreement between the fourth judge and national authorities over security measures and financial compensation reportedly caused additional delays in the investigation and prevented the judge from taking over the case before his mandate expired in late April. A fifth investigative judge was appointed on 31 May. The related investigation in the United States of America has made progress, with the extradition of a key suspect from Jamaica on 6 May, who became the third person charged in the United States in relation to the case. 24. The deteriorating security situation remained at the forefront of public debate, along with concerns about individuals displaced by gang violence. In a public petition dated 28 March, representatives from the private sector, trade unions, professional associations and civil society organizations urged the Prime Minister to promptly address public security issues. The petition’s signatories presented a set of recommendations to fight insecurity, including a proposal for the Government to declare a state of emergency, urgently provide the national police and the Armed Forces of Haiti with necessary equipment and freeze the assets of individuals who allegedly support gangs. 25. The ranks of the national police continued to contract because of resignations, retirements and deaths. Of a total 15,459 registered officers, only some 12,800 were active as at 31 May. The discrepancy stems from many desertions, health-related absences and suspensions, as well as the constant use of police officers to perform close protection duties. The police force’s current attrition rate poses a significant challenge. The official police-to-population ratio has decreased to 1.28 police officers per 1,000 inhabitants, while the police-to-population ratio for active officers is only 1.06 per 1,000 inhabitants. Without sustained recruitment and training, the downward trend is expected to continue as the first wave of police officers who qualify for retirement leave the service in the coming years, further reducing the police force’s staff and operational capacity. To bolster police staffing, the thirty-second class, which is made up of 749 cadets, including 188 women (25 per cent of the total number), is expected to begin its seven-month basic training course in the coming weeks. The increase in the percentage of women in the new class marks a positive step towards the goal of increasing the ratio of female police officers to 12 per cent from the current 11 per cent. The expected increase will be partly attributable to the implementation of a gender-mainstreaming project led by Canada that helped the national police conduct capacity-building sessions across all 10 departments in 2021. 26. The General Inspectorate of the Haitian National Police continued to face challenges that limited its effectiveness as an oversight body, notably a lack of resources, including human resources, for conducting inspections. Due to high rates of crime around its main premises in Port-au-Prince, some services were temporarily relocated to the main national police headquarters in Tabarre, allowing the General Inspectorate to resume holding monthly meetings with civil society organizations and rebuilding trust through regular contact with the public. The multi-donor basket fund will help strengthen national police capacity for ensuring oversight and addressing misconduct, thereby improving public confidence in the national police. 27. Steps were taken towards sustainably reducing the high pretrial detention rate, which stood at 82.81 per cent as at 1 June. Advocacy by my Special Representative resulted in the revitalization of the national strategy to address prolonged pretrial detention. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security started implementing measures 6/28 22-08548 S/2022/481 to resume correctional hearings and more efficiently manage incoming prisoners. The United Nations continued to provide support in the coordination of judicial actors in Les Cayes and Croix-des-Bouquets jurisdictions through the coordination forum of judicial actors, and the Organization built and equipped a hearing room in the Les Cayes prison. The appointment of a total of 113 judges on 18 March and 1 June by the Council of Ministers increased the capacity of the courts to hear cases. However, crime levels in the vicinity of the Port-au-Prince Court of First Instance continued to present a serious threat to judicial actors and legal proceedings. Lawyers’ unions and other professional organizations staged several demonstrations in April to protest what they perceived to be a lack of action on the part of national authorities to protect at-risk justice workers. Moreover, a nationwide court clerks’ strike prevented courts from conducting hearings in most of the country’s jurisdictions from 12 April to 25 May, when a temporary suspension of the strike was announced. 28. Against this backdrop, the United Nations continued to advocate for the timely entry into force of the new penal code and code of criminal procedure by calling for the prompt formation of a committee that would include among its membership the original drafters of those codes and other key stakeholders, in order to create conditions for the implementation of reforms that the codes will introduce and define necessary transitional measures for the codes’ effective use. Such a committee was established on 2 June and given a three-month mandate to assess the codes and make recommendations on the best strategy to adopt for their implementation. This critical reform remains instrumental to efforts aimed at aligning the Haitian justice system with regional and international standards. 29. Only a quarter of the seats in the country’s highest judicial body remain filled following the expiration of the terms of three Court of Cassation judges in mid-February. As a result, the Court cannot function because it is unable to constitute a quorum. The procedure for the appointment of judges laid out in the Constitution cannot be applied because the country lacks an elected President and a functioning Senate. In order to address the situation, the Government is seeking to employ an ad hoc procedure that would enable the Council of Ministers to appoint eight new judges. BINUH continued to reach out to key stakeholders, including the Superior Council of the Judiciary, to advocate for a consensual restoration of a functioning Court of Cassation through constructive and inclusive dialogue. 30. BINUH hosted a luncheon with female lawyers and magistrates on 18 April to discuss the current dysfunction of the Haitian justice system, as well as other issues affecting the independence, efficiency and ethics of judicial actors. Participants discussed tangible measures that can be taken to strengthen the judiciary, reduce pretrial detention and build the capacity of judicial personnel while highlighting the need to appoint more women in prominent judicial roles. 31. The situation continued to deteriorate in Haitian prisons as the authorities struggled, owing to insufficient funding, to provide two meals daily to prisoners. As at 1 June, the estimated overall occupancy rate of Haitian prisons was 287.77 per cent. The country’s prisons held 11,531 inmates, including 405 women, 247 boys and 19 girls, of which 9,549 inmates (82.81 per cent) were awaiting trial. To address prison shortcomings and detention conditions, the acting Director-General of the national police promised additional financial support from the Ministries of Justice and Public Security and of Economy and Finance, while technical and financial partners have provided water filtering systems, sewage disposal vans and food. Overcrowding should ease slightly with the opening of a soon-to-be-completed new prison in Petit- Goâve that is projected to hold 400 inmates. 32. The United Nations system stepped up its efforts in the fight against corruption. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducted an 22-08548 7/28 S/2022/481 interdisciplinary mission in Haiti from 20 to 26 March to assess the feasibility of launching technical programmes to help national authorities promote cross-border collaboration and combat transnational crime, corruption and drug and arms trafficking, including through the launching of the UNODC-World Customs Organization Container Control Programme in Haiti and border management programmes. The mission members met with the Prime Minister and relevant Cabinet members, representatives of the General Customs Administration, national police senior command and private sector and civil society actors. 33. All stakeholders have expressed support for the increased engagement of UNODC in the country. With funding, the Office could play a central role in bolstering efforts to control the flow of illicit firearms and drugs into Haiti, a key aspect of the fight against armed gangs, while also increasing scrutiny of import declarations, thereby potentially augmenting revenue collection. In addition, UNODC could play an important role in supporting government efforts to curtail illicit financial flows. My Special Representative continues to engage with and advocate for the programme of work of UNODC. V. Human rights (benchmark 4) 34. Armed violence perpetrated by gangs remains the main driver of human rights abuses in Haiti, in particular in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and in some regional capitals. Gangs frequently carry out killings, kidnappings and acts of sexual violence to instil terror in local populations and assert or gain control over territories. Equally concerning is the continued infiltration of gangs into the local economy and gang-imposed restrictions on freedom of movement and access to basic social services, including health and education. 35. Kidnappings continued to be a feature of Haitian daily life and a source of revenue for gangs. While kidnappers have not spared any social group, doctors, lawyers, health-care workers, professors and human rights defenders are some of the categories most affected, while kidnapped women and girls are highly likely to be subjected to sexual and gender-based violence during their captivity. To protest against kidnapping, health-care workers, students and public transportation drivers demonstrated around the capital from 14 to 16 March. Private hospitals and clinics joined these protests by holding a work stoppage. 36. Women, girls as young as 5 and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are particularly exposed to sexual violence, including rape and sexual slavery, although men and boys are also affected. Although comprehensive data in that regard are unavailable, information collected by BINUH indicates that, on average, 98 persons were victims of sexual violence per month between January and March 2022 in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, mainly in gang-controlled areas, such as Croix-des-Bouquets, Bel-Air, La Saline and Cité Soleil. As in situations of armed violence elsewhere, sexual violence in Haiti is widely underreported because of stigma and fear of reprisal. There is a lack of sufficient medical and psychological services for victims, and the providers of such services struggle to gain access to areas where sexual violence has occurred. Furthermore, the response of the police and the judiciary to sexual violence perpetrated by gang members has been extremely weak. 37. During the reporting period, gang-controlled areas were frequently the scene of violent clashes between gangs, or between gangs and the police. On 9 and 10 February, dozens of gang members were summarily executed by rival groups in the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of Bel-Air. In the commune of Croix-des- Bouquets, displacement and looting by a notorious gang continued to affect thousands of people, trapping residents in their homes and hindering their access to food, 8/28 22-08548 S/2022/481 drinking water and medical attention for days. Gang violence interrupted specialized emergency and paediatric services; on 1 April, Médecins sans frontières temporarily closed its Cité Soleil hospital out of fear for the safety of its personnel and patients. 38. Journalists, human rights defenders and judicial actors in particular remain at risk of violence and crime, a sign that civic space in the country continued to shrink. In that regard, the lack of accountability in such types of cases is especially concerning. For instance, no information is available on the status of the investigation into the killing on 6 January of two journalists in the Pétionville neighbourhood of Laboule 12. On 23 February, a journalist was killed during demonstrations in Port- au-Prince, prompting the General Inspectorate of the national police to open an investigation into possible excessive use of force. In a letter dated 8 April, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions urged the Government to reveal the findings of the investigation into the killing of the two journalists. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will continue to follow up on the matter with the relevant authorities. On 17 May, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement to denounce the severe impact on human rights of the surge in violence involving heavily armed gangs in Port-au-Prince. In her statement, the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Haitian authorities to promptly restore the rule of law and protect people from armed violence, with the support of the international community. 39. Aside from perpetrating violence, gangs continued to infiltrate the local economy through extortion, racketeering and illegal taxation. For example, the deterioration of the security situation in the Martissant section of national road 2, the only route connecting the southern part of the country to the capital, has become so acute that many drivers transport their vehicles on ferries to circumvent the area. Gang members have begun demanding $100 from ferry owners for each vehicle transported. Not only does the current situation limit freedom of movement, it also directly impacts food security and access to goods in the capital and the country’s southern regions. 40. During the first five months of 2022, a total of 126 alleged gang members were killed during police operations, representing a significant increase compared with the number killed in the last quarter of 2021. That increase can be attributed to the greater number of anti-gang operations conducted by the national police. Between 31 January and 31 May, the General Inspectorate of the police began investigations into 50 cases of human rights violations linked to either an excessive use of force or extrajudicial executions by police officers. Those investigations are ongoing. In addition, the General Inspectorate finalized its investigation into six cases from 2021 and forwarded its recommendations to the acting Director-General of the police. In February and March, the United Nations and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the United States Department of State delivered eight training sessions to new General Inspectorate investigators on human rights investigation techniques in the context of police operations in gang-controlled areas. 41. No progress was made in the investigations into the La Saline (2018) and Bel- Air (2019) massacres and the assassination of Monferrier Dorval (2020), the former head of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association. The Haitian judicial system continues to be plagued by corruption, insufficient resources and a lack of political will, all of which have helped to bring judicial proceedings to a standstill. On 8 March, BINUH met with the public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation to review the La Saline file, progress on which has stalled pending the renewal of the appointments of investigative judges or the appointment of new judges. 22-08548 9/28 S/2022/481 42. Prisons in Haiti remain overcrowded, unsanitary and underserviced. The lack of adequate food, water, sanitary facilities, essential medicines and medical equipment adversely affects the physical and mental health of prisoners. Food shortages are particularly concerning since most deaths in prisons are related to malnutrition; 54 such deaths were documented between January and April alone. In addition, security conditions are critical owing to limited resources and personnel. As a result, inmates in some prisons can remain locked in their cells for days. 43. The challenging situation in prisons has an even more pronounced impact on vulnerable groups, including incarcerated women and youth. Former inmates have confirmed allegations of sexual assault by prison officers against female prisoners in the women’s prison in Cabaret, resulting in several pregnancies. Some female prisoners are coerced into sexual activity with prison officers in exchange for certain privileges. Moreover, the state of basic service provision and the case backlog in the juvenile justice system is extremely alarming. It is estimated that more than 85 per cent of juveniles incarcerated in Haitian prisons have endured exceptionally long periods of pretrial detention. VI. Unemployment, youth and vulnerable groups (benchmark 5) 44. The economic situation in Haiti remains difficult. Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1.8 per cent in fiscal year 2021 and is expected to grow by a modest 0.3 per cent in 2022, provided additional investments are made and reforms are implemented. Fuelled by high monetary financing of the deficit and elevated international food and commodity prices, average inflation is projected at 26.1 per cent in 2022, although a partial lifting of fuel subsidies earlier in 2022 and decreased Government monetary financing resulted in a modest decrease in monthly inflation to 1.6 per cent in March 2022. In 2021, Government revenues decreased to around 5.9 per cent of GDP, forcing the authorities to cut spending to contain the fiscal deficit, which could amount to 1.5 per cent of GDP. The special drawing rights allocation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided fiscal financing relief in 2021 and supported international reserves that stabilized at around $2.5 billion, equivalent to more than five months of projected imports. However, the gourde further depreciated against the United States dollar, losing an additional 9 per cent of its value over the past six months. 45. IMF staff are in discussions with the authorities on a possible 12-month staff- monitored programme. The proposed programme would serve as a framework to reduce inflation and increase growth, strengthen fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, continue addressing governance weaknesses and combat corruption. It would seek to launch a virtuous cycle to reduce Government fiscal dominance while making room for much-needed spending on health, education, social assistance, infrastructure and security. Advancing reforms is critical to reducing the already high levels of poverty that were exacerbated by a surge in gang-related violence during the past six months. 46. Regarding structural economic challenges, an insufficiently inclusive model of socioeconomic development has contributed to increasing economic inequalities and has undermined efforts towards sustainable development and consolidating peace in Haiti. To help build a more inclusive economic model that contributes to improved social cohesion and greater stability, the United Nations country team, under the leadership of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, and together with the Government, national and international donors, civil society and the private sector, initiated 10/28 22-08548 S/2022/481 consultations to analyse the development financing ecosystem against the integrated national financing framework for sustainable development. 47. The United Nations country team continued to support efforts to increase the employability of women and vulnerable young people. In April 2022, UNDP launched a digital platform in Creole focused on the four main pillars of the entrepreneurial ecosystem: information, mentoring, financing and networking. The portal (www.boussole.ht) will serve as a platform for training and creating opportunities for young people who are interested in entering the job market and building entrepreneurial capacity. 48. The United Nations continued to support national institutions with regard to improving social protection, in particular the Government task force on the operationalization of the national policy for social protection and social progress under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. In its amended budget for 2021/22, the Government allocated $27.6 million to support the implementation of the national policy for social protection. With the assistance of the United Nations country team, the Government and civil society are jointly developing a national action plan on social protection. The plan incorporates six major themes: essential health-care packages; cash transfers to alleviate poverty; education; employment and reintegration; social care services; and institutional reforms. 49. Similarly, the United Nations country team continued to enhance the capacity of national institutions to implement integrated public policies aimed at addressing persistent development challenges. Under the overall coordination of the National Commission for Food Security, the country team supported the operationalization of the national policy for food sovereignty, food security and nutrition. In line with the policy, the Government of Haiti developed a road map for the transformation of food. In partnership with the National Coordinator for Food Security, the country team also supported the organization of a workshop on the financing and implementation of national public policies. These efforts contributed to greater coherence across humanitarian and development activities and their linkages to peace at a critical moment, following the classification of Haiti as a country of “very high concern” in the May 2022 report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme on hunger hotspots, and more broadly to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities that fuel humanitarian crises and social inequalities. VII. Basic social service delivery and resilience (benchmark 6) 50. In 2022, the humanitarian community in Haiti is focused on supporting 2.5 million of the country’s most vulnerable people. Achieving this goal will require at least $372.6 million to effectively implement the humanitarian response plan in close coordination with national authorities and community-based organizations. However, the plan has received less than 30 per cent of the required funds to date. 51. Development deficits, the effects of extreme natural events and deteriorating security trends continue to fuel humanitarian needs in Haiti. The worsening situation led to an increase in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance from 4.4 million in 2021 to 4.9 million in 2022, or 43 per cent of the total population. The earthquake that occurred on 14 August 2021, which affected 800,000 people, has been a principal driver of this increase in humanitarian needs, particularly with regard to shelter and access to essential services such as health and education. On food insecurity, recent projections indicate that, from March to June 2022, a total of 4.5 million people will need urgent food assistance, including 3.18 million in the crisis phase (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3) and 1.32 million people in the emergency phase (IPC Phase 4) of food insecurity. To 22-08548 11/28 S/2022/481 alleviate food insecurity in the country, the United Nations country team has scaled up its emergency response to provide food assistance to 2 million people in 2022, up from 900,000 people in 2021. 52. The return of some 40,000 Haitian nationals and persons of Haitian descent from countries in the Americas region from September 2021 to March 2022 has exacerbated humanitarian challenges. The returnees, some of whom have never resided in Haiti, may be at risk of further internal or external displacement and of exploitation and violence owing to extreme vulnerability. Their reintegration during the current fragile climate will require considerable efforts, beyond humanitarian assistance, to strengthen social cohesion and the resilience and absorption capacity of host communities. 53. Gang violence limits access to sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence prevention and control services. To address this, the Ministry of Public Health and Population and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Rights have deployed mobile clinics. In support, UNFPA provided expertise in implementing integrated sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services in Aquin (South Department). In March 2022, awareness-raising messages on gender-based violence and reproductive health reached 493 people, 62 per cent of whom were women. 54. Natural disasters, instability in governance, gang violence and deteriorating socioeconomic conditions – including food insecurity and malnutrition – all contribute to the worsening of the humanitarian situation in Haiti. Moving away from emergency aid towards longer-term sustainable development and stability remains a priority for the United Nations in the country, with the aim of reducing vulnerabilities and multidimensional risks while strengthening community resilience. 55. To that end, State authorities and technical and financial partners, including the United Nations country team, undertook a series of efforts during the reporting period to strengthen the resilience of the Haitian population to multidimensional risks. Activities focused on improving risk awareness, strengthening prevention, enhancing coordination mechanisms and bolstering disaster responses. As an example, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, in agreement with the General Directorate of Civil Protection, approved the incorporation of disaster risk management issues into school curricula as a way of promoting a risk-aware culture among the population. In addition, the General Directorate of Civil Protection is currently revising national emergency plans and conducting training exercises in different areas of the country to test the population’s reaction time in the event of a disaster. 56. Natural events such as flash floods (notably in the North-West Department in March) and droughts continued to undermine local livelihoods and community access to basic needs. Furthermore, deforestation in Haiti has accelerated following the 14 August 2021 earthquake, a trend observed after each major crisis in the past 20 years. To help build greater resilience to shocks, a joint project between the World Food Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the Artibonite Department will explore nature-based solutions that consider environmental risks in community resilience efforts. Another multi-agency collaboration will assess the impact of climate disruptions on security and migration in Haiti. In the southern peninsula, the national agency for protected areas completed and launched, with UNEP support, management plans for three critical marine areas in La Cahouane, Port Salut- Point l’Abacou and Île à Vache. Plans involve the joint development of ecosystem restoration and livelihood efforts with local communities to build resilience. 57. Recovery efforts continue in the southern peninsula of Haiti following the 14 August 2021 earthquake. In line with the post-disaster needs assessment for the southern peninsula of Haiti validated at the end of 2021, communal recovery plans are being developed for the nine municipalities most affected by the disaster. In 12/28 22-08548 S/2022/481 addition, national authorities held a feedback workshop on the management of earthquake emergency response to identify lessons to improve the management of future disasters. 58. As part of the post-earthquake reconstruction process, the Government of Haiti, in close collaboration with the United Nations under the leadership of the Deputy Secretary-General, organized the International Event for the Financing of the Reconstruction of the Southern Peninsula of Haiti in February 2022. This event helped collect $600 million in pledges from numerous Member States as well as international financial institutions. In addition, the Government of Haiti announced it will allocate $100 million to the reconstruction over the next four years. To better channel funding to the reconstruction and recovery of the southern peninsula, the Government of Haiti also requested that the United Nations establish a multi-partner trust fund. To date, $17.4 million has been pledged to this fund. Meanwhile, to address identified financial gaps, an aid effectiveness committee met on 2 June to coordinate pledges, trust fund projects and development partner actions to ensure a smooth response based on lessons learned from disaster responses in 2010 and 2016. 59. No laboratory-confirmed case of cholera has been reported in Haiti for more than three years. This major milestone was made possible thanks to the leadership of national authorities, including the Ministry of Public Health and Population and the water authority of Haiti, as well as the dedication of front-line workers throughout the country and the support of international partners. The steadfast efforts of its people have brought Haiti to the brink of becoming the first country in modern