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Gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, and the surrounding locality has produced a series of human rights abuses against children, Amnesty International reported on Wednesday.
Violence by gangs has worsened since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Amnesty International states that the violence reached “unprecedented levels” in 2024, and children are exposed to and put through forced gang recruitment, and sexual violence, including rape, and kidnappings. Agnès Callamard, the Secretary-General for Amnesty International, said that gangs in Haiti “have committed multiple abuses of children’s rights, including the rights to life, to education, and to freedom of movement.”
Amnesty reported around 1 million children alive in regions where gangs control 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, with girls being targeted on the street and in their homes and abducted, raped, and sexually assaulted, and survivors experiencing obstacles. As abortion is illegal, some have turned to unsafe procedures, which is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country. Others have not reported their attacks due to a lack of law enforcement in areas occupied by gangs and gangs have looted hospitals, disturbing Haiti’s health system.
The group further reported children in Port-au-Prince are caught in crossfires between gangs in neighborhoods and end up being killed and injured. Children with disabilities have been predominantly affected due to restricted mobility, abandoning assisted devices, and inaccessible conditions.
Haiti signed and later ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which sets out the rights of children and defends them from violence and exploitation, and has been a member of the UN since 1945. Countries that have ratified the Convention are bound to the treaty by international law.
Article 19(1) puts an obligation on state parties to take “legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.” Article 34 states that parties must protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse and per Article 35, states must take “national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction.” The convention also requires states to promote psychological and physical healing of children after atrocities and to help foster the child’s self-respect and dignity.
5,601 people were killed in 2024 by gang violence with 2,212 people injured and 1,494 abducted. Political challenges, natural disasters, and COVID-19 are said to have created hardships for Haiti and after President Moïse’s assassination, gangs sought to increase their control. The rise in violence has collided with human rights and a stream of illegal weapons thought to originate from the US allows gang violence to endure.
The UN chief issued a warning in a report in January about the escalating threat posed by gangs in Haiti, emphasizing that without additional international support for the national police, Port-au-Prince could face a breakdown of government authority.
The post Children in Haiti face consequences of worsening gang crisis, rights group reports appeared first on JURIST - News.
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Violence by gangs has worsened since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021. Amnesty International states that the violence reached “unprecedented levels” in 2024, and children are exposed to and put through forced gang recruitment, and sexual violence, including rape, and kidnappings. Agnès Callamard, the Secretary-General for Amnesty International, said that gangs in Haiti “have committed multiple abuses of children’s rights, including the rights to life, to education, and to freedom of movement.”
Amnesty reported around 1 million children alive in regions where gangs control 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, with girls being targeted on the street and in their homes and abducted, raped, and sexually assaulted, and survivors experiencing obstacles. As abortion is illegal, some have turned to unsafe procedures, which is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country. Others have not reported their attacks due to a lack of law enforcement in areas occupied by gangs and gangs have looted hospitals, disturbing Haiti’s health system.
The group further reported children in Port-au-Prince are caught in crossfires between gangs in neighborhoods and end up being killed and injured. Children with disabilities have been predominantly affected due to restricted mobility, abandoning assisted devices, and inaccessible conditions.
Haiti signed and later ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which sets out the rights of children and defends them from violence and exploitation, and has been a member of the UN since 1945. Countries that have ratified the Convention are bound to the treaty by international law.
Article 19(1) puts an obligation on state parties to take “legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.” Article 34 states that parties must protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse and per Article 35, states must take “national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction.” The convention also requires states to promote psychological and physical healing of children after atrocities and to help foster the child’s self-respect and dignity.
5,601 people were killed in 2024 by gang violence with 2,212 people injured and 1,494 abducted. Political challenges, natural disasters, and COVID-19 are said to have created hardships for Haiti and after President Moïse’s assassination, gangs sought to increase their control. The rise in violence has collided with human rights and a stream of illegal weapons thought to originate from the US allows gang violence to endure.
The UN chief issued a warning in a report in January about the escalating threat posed by gangs in Haiti, emphasizing that without additional international support for the national police, Port-au-Prince could face a breakdown of government authority.
The post Children in Haiti face consequences of worsening gang crisis, rights group reports appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.