The head of the U.N. children’s organization said on April 22, 2024, that with gang violence escalating, aid to 58,000 children suffering from the most severe type of malnutrition is being prevented from reaching them because of blockades on the air, sea, and land that virtually cut off the capital of Haiti.
Two-thirds of Haiti’s children require help, according to UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, and between 30 and 50 percent of armed organizations include minors in their ranks. Additionally, females are the targets of “extreme levels” of sexual and gender-based violence.
- Advertisement -
Russell revealed to the UN Security Council, “The situation in Haiti is catastrophic, and it grows worse by the day.” She added, “Port-au-Prince is now almost completely sealed off because of air, sea and land blockades.”
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who announced his resignation on March 11 while trapped abroad and under pressure from the US, is set to be replaced by a nine-member council that Haiti is going to elect.
After Henry declared that his siege of the city was an attempt to remove him, Haiti’s gangs many of which have united under the coalition known as “Viv Ansanm” (Living Together)—have not abated their attacks.
Local media said that on Monday, gangs from Viv Ansanm were engaged in combat with authorities near the National Palace. Although the exact date has not yet been determined, the transitional council is expected to be installed at the palace.
Maria Isabel Salvador, the UN special envoy for Haiti, informed the Security Council, “Since March 8, close to 100,000 Haitians have left Port-au-Prince for the regions, escaping gang violence in search of security.”
“Food insecurity also remains rampant across the country, with half of the population suffering from severe food insecurity,” Salvador indicated that just 8% of a $674 million U.N. request for 2024 had been financed.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, armed men confiscated vehicles and requested that the port be closed, halting operations at Haiti’s primary petroleum import facility.
In October 2021, armed gangs shut down the Varreux terminal for about a month. A year later, the closure lasted for almost a month, putting a stop to most commercial activity and forcing the government to request international help.
In a recent interview, Carl Skau, the deputy executive director of the World Food Programme, informed reporters that the citizens of Haiti are “running out of food.” This was an observation he noted in his recent weekend visit to the impoverished country.
He added, “There’s a ship coming. If that can dock and unload then they are safe, but we are talking about days until they run out.”
Due to the majority of companies’ inability to continue operating without their diesel generators, hospitals were forced to close during the prior blockades, radio stations ceased airing, mobile antennas ran out of fuel, and transportation came to a complete stop.
In October 2023, the Security Council gave the go-ahead for a foreign security operation in Haiti. Due to financial and legal concerns, the mission—which Kenya has offered to lead—has not yet been dispatched.
According to Russell, since the security mission would probably be carried out in crowded metropolitan areas, “the safety of the civilian population is paramount.”
Russell remarked, “The use of force in and around populated areas must be avoided, and the mission must only use the least harmful means that are necessary and proportionate to the legitimate law enforcement objective.”
