Sexual violence ‘largely unpunished’ in Haiti, UN says

The UN human rights office described sexual violence in Haiti as “severely underreported and largely unpunished” in a harrowing report released Thursday that documented cases of rape and forced sexual relations with gang members, as well surging levels of gang violence in the country.

The UN human rights office described sexual violence in Haiti as “severely underreported and largely unpunished” in a harrowing report released Thursday that documented cases of rape and forced sexual relations with gang members, as well surging levels of gang violence in the country. The report, from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), also found that more than 1,500 people have been killed by gang violence in Haiti so far this year, set to outpace the 4,451 killings in 2023, as the country slides deeper into chaos and anarchy, with heavily armed gangs battling authorities in the capital city in recent weeks. “Corruption, impunity, and poor governance, compounded by increasing levels of gang violence, have eroded the rule of law and brought state institutions, which should be the basis of a democratic society, close to collapse,” the report stated. The violence has caused the internal displacement of approximately 313,900 people as of December 2023, according to the OHCHR. The gangs also continue to recruit children, who are often used as lookouts for other gang members to carry out kidnappings and robberies, according to testimonies collected by the OHCHR. “All these practices are outrageous and must stop at once,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.