United Nations — Haiti now has an opportunity to address rampant gang violence, a U.N. human rights expert in Haiti said Monday, with the deployment of a U.S.-initiated international force and the prime minister’s commitment to providing alternatives for young gang members.
“We are now in a situation where the next few months are going to be crucial,” said William O’Neill, who visited Haiti this month. “And I think that can change, because the gangs, at the end of the day, are not that strong.”
UN Security Council On September 30th The United States and Panama have agreed to a plan co-sponsored by the United States and Panama to allow the deployment of a much larger, 5,550-member force with expanded powers to help de-escalate. Gang violence in Haiti. This force aims to transform the Kenyan-led multinational force, which arrived in Haiti in June 2024 and has grown to about 1,100 soldiers, into a “gang suppression force” with the authority to arrest suspected gang members, which the current force does not have.
O’Neill told UN reporters that the support office and other elements of the guerrilla suppression force were already in Haiti, with the first batch of troops scheduled to arrive in early April, with more units arriving in the following months and the entire force on the ground by September. He added that some units are expected to remain in the Kenya-led forces, including from El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica.
Gangs have grown in power since Assassination of President Jovenel Moise In 2021. And they are now Controlling 90% of the capitalin Port-au-Prince, and expanded its activities into the countryside, including looting, kidnapping, sexual assaults, and rape. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination. Haitian police and UN-backed multinational forces are struggling to quell the violence.
O’Neill urged the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on more gang leaders, corrupt politicians and oligarchs linked to the gangs. He said the flow of guns and other weapons from the United States in the first place must stop because then “the gangs run out of bullets, and they lose their power.”
The Haitian expert, appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he was frustrated that nearly five years after Moise’s assassination, the gangs had become more powerful. But he said he now had “more than hope” with the arrival of the gang suppression force, and A prime minister With a Cabinet committed to achieving results for the people, especially opportunities for youth and gang members.
He added that gang leaders are now on social media all the time, showing off their jewelry and luxury sportswear and bragging about what they do. “Kids see this and say, ‘This is how I get rich, this is how I get big.’”
But O’Neill said there was a terrible video released a few weeks ago that showed a gang leader with a baseball bat beating 10 or 15 young boys lying on the ground because he suspected them of trying to get out of the gang’s territory.
He said getting rid of several gang leaders could have a big impact on tackling violence, because others seeking money and power would get the message.
“Haiti faces a difficult but promising moment,” O’Neill said. “If we can help Haiti address insecurity, combat corruption and impunity, and protect human rights, everyone will prosper.” “We can’t let them down.”