According to  Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough, "nowhere is safe for children in Haiti anymore."  “Whether on their way to school, at home or even at church, girls and boys are at risk of being kidnapped anywhere, at any time of the day or night. This is every parent’s worst nightmare", she explained.   UNICEF estimates, based on official sources, that 71 women and 30 children were abducted in the first eight months of this year, up from 59 women and 37 children last year.  The number represents one third of the 455 kidnappings reported. Most of the kidnappings are taking place in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and most abductees are Haitian. 

Upsurge in violence 

Since June, gang violence in the area has displaced at least 19,000 people and has affected 1.5 million.   “Criminal gangs are using children as bargaining chips and making money off parents’ love for their children,” said Ms. Gough. "Amidst widespread poverty and rampant criminality, child abductions have become a lucrative business. This is abhorrent.”  According to news reports, The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a Haiti-based NGO, has reported nearly 800 kidnappings in the country this year. In the first half of October alone, 119 people were abducted.  Just last weekend, 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada were kidnapped. The missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when their bus was reportedly seized by members of the 400 Mazowo gang.   Specifically, for children and their mothers, these acts have a long-lasting impact. Captivity always causes trauma as they often witness or experience humiliation, threats and, in some cases, violence.  To improve reporting of incidents and assistance, UNICEF has supported the national child protection agency (IBESR) in reactivating its free hotline to be used alongside a helpline run by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM). 

Combination of crises 

Haiti is still reeling from a devastating earthquake that hit the southwestern part of the country in August, leaving 130,000 houses, over 1,000 schools and some 90 health centres damaged or destroyed.   Additionally, the expulsion of over 7,600 Haitian migrants, more than half of whom are women and children, from the United States and other countries in the Americas, could place more vulnerable children and women at risk.   According to the acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, , all these crises pose obstacles to humanitarian access. The situation is further complicated by very serious fuel shortages and the reduced supply of goods.  According to Mr. Hiraldo, the security situation, which was already precarious, has deteriorated significantly since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July.   Across the country, as of September 2021, 4.3 million people were experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, up from 4 million in August 2020.  Currently, about 70 per cent of all schools in the southwestern part of the country are still damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF.  Earlier this month, when addressing the , Helen La Lime, Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (), said the country is undergoing “one of the most fraught periods of its recent history”.

According to  Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough, "nowhere is safe for children in Haiti anymore."  “Whether on their way to school, at home or even at church, girls and boys are at risk of being kidnapped anywhere, at any time of the day or night. This is every parent’s worst nightmare", she explained.   UNICEF estimates, based on official sources, that 71 women and 30 children were abducted in the first eight months of this year, up from 59 women and 37 children last year.  The number represents one third of the 455 kidnappings reported. Most of the kidnappings are taking place in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and most abductees are Haitian. 

Upsurge in violence 

Since June, gang violence in the area has displaced at least 19,000 people and has affected 1.5 million.   “Criminal gangs are using children as bargaining chips and making money off parents’ love for their children,” said Ms. Gough. "Amidst widespread poverty and rampant criminality, child abductions have become a lucrative business. This is abhorrent.”  According to news reports, The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a Haiti-based NGO, has reported nearly 800 kidnappings in the country this year. In the first half of October alone, 119 people were abducted.  Just last weekend, 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada were kidnapped. The missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when their bus was reportedly seized by members of the 400 Mazowo gang.   Specifically, for children and their mothers, these acts have a long-lasting impact. Captivity always causes trauma as they often witness or experience humiliation, threats and, in some cases, violence.  To improve reporting of incidents and assistance, UNICEF has supported the national child protection agency (IBESR) in reactivating its free hotline to be used alongside a helpline run by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM). 

Combination of crises 

Haiti is still reeling from a devastating earthquake that hit the southwestern part of the country in August, leaving 130,000 houses, over 1,000 schools and some 90 health centres damaged or destroyed.   Additionally, the expulsion of over 7,600 Haitian migrants, more than half of whom are women and children, from the United States and other countries in the Americas, could place more vulnerable children and women at risk.   According to the acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, , all these crises pose obstacles to humanitarian access. The situation is further complicated by very serious fuel shortages and the reduced supply of goods.  According to Mr. Hiraldo, the security situation, which was already precarious, has deteriorated significantly since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July.   Across the country, as of September 2021, 4.3 million people were experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, up from 4 million in August 2020.  Currently, about 70 per cent of all schools in the southwestern part of the country are still damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF.  Earlier this month, when addressing the , Helen La Lime, Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (), said the country is undergoing “one of the most fraught periods of its recent history”.

According to  Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough, "nowhere is safe for children in Haiti anymore."  “Whether on their way to school, at home or even at church, girls and boys are at risk of being kidnapped anywhere, at any time of the day or night. This is every parent’s worst nightmare", she explained.   UNICEF estimates, based on official sources, that 71 women and 30 children were abducted in the first eight months of this year, up from 59 women and 37 children last year.  The number represents one third of the 455 kidnappings reported. Most of the kidnappings are taking place in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and most abductees are Haitian. 

Upsurge in violence 

Since June, gang violence in the area has displaced at least 19,000 people and has affected 1.5 million.   “Criminal gangs are using children as bargaining chips and making money off parents’ love for their children,” said Ms. Gough. "Amidst widespread poverty and rampant criminality, child abductions have become a lucrative business. This is abhorrent.”  According to news reports, The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a Haiti-based NGO, has reported nearly 800 kidnappings in the country this year. In the first half of October alone, 119 people were abducted.  Just last weekend, 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada were kidnapped. The missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when their bus was reportedly seized by members of the 400 Mazowo gang.   Specifically, for children and their mothers, these acts have a long-lasting impact. Captivity always causes trauma as they often witness or experience humiliation, threats and, in some cases, violence.  To improve reporting of incidents and assistance, UNICEF has supported the national child protection agency (IBESR) in reactivating its free hotline to be used alongside a helpline run by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM). 

Combination of crises 

Haiti is still reeling from a devastating earthquake that hit the southwestern part of the country in August, leaving 130,000 houses, over 1,000 schools and some 90 health centres damaged or destroyed.   Additionally, the expulsion of over 7,600 Haitian migrants, more than half of whom are women and children, from the United States and other countries in the Americas, could place more vulnerable children and women at risk.   According to the acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, , all these crises pose obstacles to humanitarian access. The situation is further complicated by very serious fuel shortages and the reduced supply of goods.  According to Mr. Hiraldo, the security situation, which was already precarious, has deteriorated significantly since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July.   Across the country, as of September 2021, 4.3 million people were experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, up from 4 million in August 2020.  Currently, about 70 per cent of all schools in the southwestern part of the country are still damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF.  Earlier this month, when addressing the , Helen La Lime, Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (), said the country is undergoing “one of the most fraught periods of its recent history”.

Still reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, on 7 July, the country was crippled on 14 August by a deadly 7.2 magnitude that affected over 800,000 people in its southwestern peninsula.  Helen La Lime, Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti () that “long awaited” national and local elections have now been further postponed while “insecurity has become rampant in Port-au-Prince, as kidnappings are once again on the rise and gangs have extended their control over large swaths of the city.” She also noted the recent forced return of thousands of Haitian migrants from the US-Mexico border, many of whom had simply “sought better living conditions in neighbouring countries”.

Finding common ground

While the country’s seemingly never-ending crises have pushed the resilience of the Haitian people to the brink, there is some good news, said Ms. La Lime. In a positive step towards reviving democratic institutions, politicians from across the spectrum, including former opposition and ruling coalition groups, reached an agreement on 11 September, to form a new Provisional Electoral Council, with a view to holding elections no later than the second half of 2022.  And a large national consensus wishes to reform the 1987 Haitian constitution, a charter widely viewed as contributing to the recurrent political and institutional instability. “One can only hope that Haitian political and civil society leaders will continue to work together to find common ground around a common project that will contribute to fostering a more appeased climate in which decisive action can be taken and essential reforms enacted”, said the BINUH chief.

Shroud of impunity

Meanwhile, security must be re-established, especially in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, as a significant and sudden increase in gang violence has caused the displacement of some 19,000 people from the communes of Cité-Soleil, Croix-des-Bouquets, Delmas and the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of Martissant. “The control that gangs exercise around strategic entry and exit points of the capital has had a detrimental impact on Haiti’s economy and the movement of people and goods”, said the UN official. However, an over-stretched, under-resourced police force cannot stem the rise in crime without being strengthened and accompanied by Government services to impoverished neighbourhoods. “The Government must implement a more holistic approach to addressing gang violence, within the framework of the national strategy for community violence reduction”, she stated. Although Haitian citizens have unanimously condemned President Moïse’s assassination and called for a thorough investigation, Ms. La Lime flagged that “judicial actors must be allowed to work independently…with reassurance that they will be protected while undertaking the delicate task of identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators”. 

We must ensure that Haiti does not become a forgotten crisis -- UN Special Representative

Humanitarian complexities

The August earthquake added another layer of complexity to an already dire humanitarian situation. Amidst ongoing relief operations, the Special Representative said that early recovery and restoring jobs, must be supported in the affected areas. “We must ensure that Haiti does not become a forgotten crisis”, continued the UN official, urging Member States to contribute to the launched for those affected by the earthquake and the $235.6 million .“It is a race against time to ensure that children can return to school, that farmers do not miss the next planting season, and that people currently living in spontaneous displacement camps return to their homes as quickly as possible”, she said. Ms. La Lime underscored that, “through urgent, determined and concerted action”, Haiti can address its deep structural challenges and governance and development deficits that feed the country’s “instability, insecurity, and ever-growing humanitarian needs”. “Along with the United Nations, the entire international community must continue to steadfastly stand alongside the Haitian people and their Government as they endeavour to forge a path towards stability, security and sustainable development”, she concluded.

Opening schools

Currently, about 70 per cent of all schools in the Southwestern part of the country are still damaged or destroyed, according to the UN Children’s Fund ().  “I am shocked to see how many schools are flattened or damaged due to the earthquake,” Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Haiti. Kicking off a back-to-school campaign, about 300,000 students are gradually starting to resume classes in the three earthquake-stricken departments, because “with or without schools, learning and teaching must continue now”, he added. If classrooms remain closed, UNICEF estimates that more than 230,000 children are at risk of dropping out of school in the Great Southern departments of Haiti.   “The longer children wait, the more difficult it will be to get them back to school”, warned Mr. Maes.