UN aid chief: Gangs control about 60% of Haiti's capital
By Edith M. Lederer | AP
December 8, 2022
UNITED NATIONS — Close to 60% of Haiti’s capital is dominated by gangs whose violence and sexual attacks have caused thousands to flee their homes, the U.N. humanitarian chief in the Caribbean nation said Thursday.
Ulrika Richardson said that has left nearly 20,000 people in the capital facing “catastrophic famine-like conditions” as a cholera outbreak spreads throughout Haiti.
Richardson painted a grim picture of a country in a downward spiral, with half its population in urgent need of food assistance as the number of cholera deaths has risen to 283. She said close to 12,000 people have been hospitalized with the disease since Oct. 2, and there are now a total of more than 14,000 suspected cholera cases in eight of the country’s 10 regions.
She said all but 1,000 of the 20,000 Haitians facing starvation are in the capital, Port-au-Prince, mainly in the Cite Soleil slum controlled by the gangs. Richardson said insecurity has led to “massive displacement,” especially in the capital, where 155,000 people have fled their homes.
She said at a news conference that the gangs are using “very terrifying levels of sexual violence as a weapon” to keep people under control, instill fear and punishment.
She said gang battles over territory and their criminal actions are tearing society apart and escalating insecurity.
Political instability has simmered in Haiti since last year’s still-unsolved assassination of President Jovenal Moïse, who had faced protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges.
Daily life in Haiti began to spin out of control in September just hours after Prime Minister Ariel Henry said fuel subsidies would be eliminated, causing prices to double. A gang led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, a former police officer, blocked the Varreux fuel terminal, setting off a fuel crisis.
The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Cherizier on Oct. 21, and he announced on Nov. 6 that his G9 gang federation was lifting the blockade.
But despite the availability of fuel, Richardson said, the humanitarian, security and political situation is worsening, saying that “everyone is affected by the violence.”
Hentry and Haiti’s Council of Ministers sent an urgent appeal Oct. 7 calling for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to dispatch an international military force to tackle Haiti’s violence and alleviate its humanitarian crisis.
Richardson said U.N. Security Council members have held intensive discussions since then focusing on the “potential leadership and potential composition of such a force,” but so far there has been no decision.
“What is very important here is that the gang violence needs to be addressed,” she said.
While discussions are continuing in the Security Council, Richardson said the United Nations and a lot of countries are helping Haiti’s national police force — “and they need a lot of support in terms of equipment and training.”
In mid-November, the U.N. launched an emergency appeal for $145 million to respond to Haiti’s cholera outbreak and rising hunger, but so far it has received just $23.5 million, she said.
Richardson said the U.N. will be appealing for $719 million for Haiti for 2023, double the amount this year, because of the dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
On a positive note, she said, schools are being reopened at the level of about 53% throughout the country, mainly in the south. Many of the 4 million children in Haiti haven’t had any proper education since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, she said.
Cholera’s continued spread in Haiti a ‘worrying trend’
08 December 2022
As cholera continues to spread in Haiti, a $145 million appeal to support the response is only 16 per cent funded, the top UN aid official there reported on Thursday.
Ulrika Richardson, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Caribbean country, updated journalists in New York on the deadly outbreak, which was declared on 2 October.
So far, 283 people have died, nearly 12,000 have been hospitalized, and more than 14,000 suspected cases have been recorded.
Increase in cases
“What we are seeing in fact, is not only the continued increase of cholera cases, but also the spread to the regions,” she said.
“In eight of the 10 departments there are confirmed cholera cases, and this is a worrying trend for us and for the country.”
Ms. Richardson is at UN Headquarters for a three-day visit to meet with senior officials and colleagues on the outbreak, which is unfolding amid political instability, gang violence and unprecedented hunger.
The flash appeal was launched last month to support emergency cholera response and to provide life-saving assistance to 1.4 million people living in affected areas. Some $23.5 million has been received to date, she said.
UNOCHA/Christian Cricboom
Ulrika Richardson (centre), the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti visits a cholera treatment centre in Port-au-Prince.
Insecurity and violations
While grateful for the funding, Ms. Richardson highlighted the immense needs as a new year approaches.
“In fact, the humanitarian needs continue to increase,” she said, adding that the UN is currently preparing the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti, which calls for $719 million, or roughly double the amount requested this year.
Meanwhile, “insecurity continues to be rampant, with really chilling reports of human rights violations,” she reported.
Gangs dominate nearly 60 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and use terrifying means to keep the population in control, including sexual violence. Women and girls are affected, but so are men and boys, as the gangs fight over territory.
“That territory is worth both fighting for and defending at all costs, and the cost here is a human cost,” she said.
The insecurity has also sparked massive displacement, particularly in the capital. Some 155,000 people have been uprooted – a nearly 80 per cent increase since August.
UN commitment
Ms. Richardson also pointed to a positive development, noting that more than half of schools have reopened, despite all the challenges.
School closures have affected some four million children, many of whom have not had proper access to education since the start of the COVID-19Opens in new window pandemic.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti underscored the UN’s continued support to the country, whether in cholera response, education, or distribution of food and other items to vulnerable families.
“We have logistical challenges, you can imagine, and the security challenge, but we are able to be present and we are able to help people,” she told journalists.
“We are obviously focusing on the most vulnerable, but we also try not to lose focus on the real structural root causes. So, we have corruption, we have impunity, we have governance, and all of that needs to really be at the centre also of our thinking as we go forward.”
08 December 2022
As cholera continues to spread in Haiti, a $145 million appeal to support the response is only 16 per cent funded, the top UN aid official there reported on Thursday.
Ulrika Richardson, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Caribbean country, updated journalists in New York on the deadly outbreak, which was declared on 2 October.
So far, 283 people have died, nearly 12,000 have been hospitalized, and more than 14,000 suspected cases have been recorded.
Increase in cases
“What we are seeing in fact, is not only the continued increase of cholera cases, but also the spread to the regions,” she said.
“In eight of the 10 departments there are confirmed cholera cases, and this is a worrying trend for us and for the country.”
Ms. Richardson is at UN Headquarters for a three-day visit to meet with senior officials and colleagues on the outbreak, which is unfolding amid political instability, gang violence and unprecedented hunger.
The flash appeal was launched last month to support emergency cholera response and to provide life-saving assistance to 1.4 million people living in affected areas. Some $23.5 million has been received to date, she said.
UNOCHA/Christian Cricboom
Ulrika Richardson (centre), the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti visits a cholera treatment centre in Port-au-Prince.
Insecurity and violations
While grateful for the funding, Ms. Richardson highlighted the immense needs as a new year approaches.
“In fact, the humanitarian needs continue to increase,” she said, adding that the UN is currently preparing the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti, which calls for $719 million, or roughly double the amount requested this year.
Meanwhile, “insecurity continues to be rampant, with really chilling reports of human rights violations,” she reported.
Gangs dominate nearly 60 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and use terrifying means to keep the population in control, including sexual violence. Women and girls are affected, but so are men and boys, as the gangs fight over territory.
“That territory is worth both fighting for and defending at all costs, and the cost here is a human cost,” she said.
The insecurity has also sparked massive displacement, particularly in the capital. Some 155,000 people have been uprooted – a nearly 80 per cent increase since August.
UN commitment
Ms. Richardson also pointed to a positive development, noting that more than half of schools have reopened, despite all the challenges.
School closures have affected some four million children, many of whom have not had proper access to education since the start of the COVID-19Opens in new window pandemic.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti underscored the UN’s continued support to the country, whether in cholera response, education, or distribution of food and other items to vulnerable families.
“We have logistical challenges, you can imagine, and the security challenge, but we are able to be present and we are able to help people,” she told journalists.
“We are obviously focusing on the most vulnerable, but we also try not to lose focus on the real structural root causes. So, we have corruption, we have impunity, we have governance, and all of that needs to really be at the centre also of our thinking as we go forward.”
No comments:
Post a Comment