(2024-03) Annual Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Situation of Human Rights in Haiti
Summary — This report details the sharp deterioration of human rights in Haiti, primarily due to endemic gang violence. It highlights the main developments related to rule of law institutions, the police, justice, and penitentiary systems, noting persistent challenges despite some progress. The report covers developments from September 2023 to February 2024, emphasizing the widespread violence, its humanitarian consequences, and the State's limited capacity to respond.
Key Findings
- Human rights situation in Haiti has sharply deteriorated due to endemic gang violence, leading to widespread killings, injuries, and kidnappings.
- Gang violence has expanded geographically beyond Port-au-Prince, severely impacting basic services like health and education, and causing massive internal displacement.
- Rule of law institutions, including police, justice, and penitentiary systems, remain largely dysfunctional due to inadequate resources, corruption, and insecurity, despite some limited progress.
- Children are increasingly recruited by gangs and are victims of violence, while women and girls face pervasive sexual violence and compounded stigma.
- Urgent, comprehensive action is needed from national and international stakeholders to address insecurity, strengthen democratic institutions, ensure accountability, and prioritize protection and prevention, including through the deployment of the MSS mission.
Full Description
This report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provides a comprehensive overview of the human rights situation in Haiti, which has sharply deteriorated due to endemic gang violence. It covers the period from September 2023 to February 2024, detailing the significant increase in armed violence, its geographic expansion beyond Port-au-Prince to areas like Artibonite, and the devastating impact on the population. The report highlights widespread killings, injuries, kidnappings, and the pervasive use of sexual violence, particularly against women and girls.
The document further examines the impact of gang violence on basic services, including access to food, water, health, housing, and education, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis and internal displacement. It assesses the state of law enforcement and judicial entities, noting some progress in police operations and judicial vetting, but emphasizing persistent challenges such as inadequate police resources, dysfunctional courthouses, entrenched corruption, and severe prison overcrowding with high rates of pre-trial detention. The report concludes with calls for urgent action from national stakeholders and Member States to address gang violence, strengthen democratic institutions, ensure accountability, and prioritize protection and prevention, including through the deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.