UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations Migration Office says half of Haiti’s displaced are children, stating that a breakdown in law and order and a wider humanitarian emergency across the French-speaking Caribbean country have displaced more than 700,000 people – one in two of them children.
New data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicates a 22 per cent spike in the number of people uprooted from their homes since June.
On Wednesday, the IOM said that gang violence had forced more than 110,000 people to flee their homes in the last seven months, particularly in Gressier, which lies west of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Grégoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief in Haiti, said that the sharp rise in displacement underscored the urgent need for a sustained humanitarian response from the international community.
The UN agency noted that although more than 65,000 people had returned to the Cité Soleil neighbourhood near the capital, which is known for deadly clashes between rival gangs, these returnees “are often displaced again, following new attacks”.
As humanitarian needs grow, IOM said it has continued to provide critical assistance to displaced people and host communities, although access for aid teams remains difficult and dangerous in places.
IOM also reaffirmed it would keep working alongside the Government of Haiti and international partners to provide lifesaving assistance and find long-term solutions for the displaced.
“It is crucial that efforts to restore stability and security across the country continue,” the agency said, “alongside humanitarian aid to alleviate the immediate suffering.”
On Monday, the UN Security Council on Monday re-authorized the deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti for 12 months.
The UN said the mission was authorized last October to assist Haiti’s beleaguered police force.
Led by Kenya, it currently has around 410 police officers on the ground and is expected to grow to around 2,500, the UN said.
It said the renewal comes as “the mission tries to curb rampant gang violence, enable an environment conducive to aid delivery, and create conditions for free and fair elections.”
In a unanimous vote on resolution 2751, the UN said the 15-member Council urged the MSS mission to speed up its deployment and called on all nations to provide additional voluntary contributions and support.
The UN said the resolution reaffirmed that the UN Secretary-General may offer logistical support to the mission when requested, “subject to full financial reimbursement through available voluntary contributions and in full compliance with the UN Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.”
Last Thursday, Haiti’s transitional President Edgard Leblanc Fils addressed the UN General Assembly, warning that his country faces an “unprecedented security crisis”.
“Citizens are living in fear of even moving about freely or going to school, particularly around the capital Port-au-Prince,” he said in his contribution to the 79th Session of the General Assembly Debate, urging continued UN support.
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