Ap, Reuters and Europa Press

La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, October 25, 2024, p. 24

New York., The executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, denounced yesterday before the United Nations Security Council the catastrophic situation in which the population of Haiti finds itself, enduring some of the worst abuses, rights violations and threats, in a humanitarian crisis caused by the wave of violence by criminal gangs that has been going on for months.

Since I informed you half a year ago about the crisis in the Caribbean country, the situation has continued to deteriorate. Armed groups regularly commit serious violations of children’s rights, including murder and mutilationhe lamented.

At least 5.5 million people, of whom 3 million are children, have required humanitarian aid so far this year. Half of the population faces serious food insecurity.

A report last month from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights revealed that more than 3,600 people had been killed in 2024, and a staggering increase in reports of sexual violence against women and children.

US embassy attacked

The United States confirmed that two vehicles of its embassy in Haiti were attacked by armed gangs. Additionally, at press time, gang members shot at a United Nations helicopter carrying three crew members and 15 passengers, forcing it to land in Port-au-Prince, according to a source.