UN's Haiti human rights expert warns of dire situation

Following a week-long visit to the country, the United Nations designated expert on human rights in Haiti, William O'Neill, told reporters Tuesday that the situation in the country is dire.

Haitians continue to face constant gang violence with the UN estimating that they already control 85 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The fighting continues despite the presence of a multinational UN-backed mission, led by Kenyan forces who are working alongside Haiti’s national police.

O’Neill said that despite their efforts, the risk of the capital falling under gang control was palpable.

“These violent criminal groups continue to extend and consolidate their hold even beyond the capital,” he said.

“They kill, rape, terrorise, set fire to homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals, places of worship. They recruit children, and they infiltrate all spheres of society.”

He said they did all this with the utmost impunity and sometimes “with the complicity of powerful actors".

O’Neil said this impunity and corruption were major obstacles to dismantling gangs, and called on the Haitian state to make the fight against both “an absolute priority".

But he said this must be done in strict compliance with international human rights law, particularly the right to life.

“No circumstances, however exceptional, can justify the violation of this fundamental right," he said.

O’Neill also urged national and international actors to comply with human rights laws.

He called for neighbouring countries, particularly the United States which is the source of most of Haiti’s illegal arms, to do more to prevent the flow of guns to criminal groups.

"There is not a day to lose. There is no alternative. Haiti's survival is at stake," he said.

The United Nations says more than 5,600 people were reported killed in the country last year, with gang violence displacing more than one million Haitians in recent years.