United Nations, April 23.- The director of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), Catherine Russell, described the situation of children in Haiti as catastrophic, who face a protection crisis.
Reporting to the Security Council, the official estimated that between 30 and 50 percent of armed groups have children in their ranks, while women and girls continue to be subject to extreme levels of sexual and gender-based violence.
Years of political unrest and devastating economic conditions have led to the proliferation of armed groups and 2.7 million people now live under their control, Russell said.
The UN has verified more than 400 serious rights violations against children while another 180,000 were internally displaced and at risk of suffering serious malnutrition, he stated.
The expert warned that many of the displaced minors lack access to vital aid because the Martissant highway, the only humanitarian corridor from Port-au-Prince to the southern regions, remains blocked.
For her part, María Isabel Salvador, head of the UN Mission in the country (Binuh) assured that in the first quarter of 2024, 2,500 Haitians died or were injured due to gang violence, an increase of 53 percent compared to the previous period.
According to the official, these statistics make the first quarter the most violent since 2022, when the Binuh Human Rights Section began recording statistics.
The severity of the current crisis highlights capacity gaps within national structures and the urgent need for international assistance, namely through the immediate deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission, he said.
Despite the first political consensus since the recent escalation, the head of the UN Mission in the country warned that gang leaders and other saboteurs have expressed their intention to violently disrupt the current political process.
I cannot emphasize enough the need to help Haiti in its efforts to restore security, he added with a call for the urgent deployment of the multinational force approved since October by the Security Council. (PL) (Photo: Taken from the Internet)
