UNICEF sounds the alarm: “The world is failing the Haitians”

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International solidarity with Haiti has largely faded since the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake; the situation is worse than ever, said the head of the children’s charity. So far less than a quarter of the $720 million (663 million euros) the UN has requested for humanitarian aid in Haiti this year has been received.

“The current security situation is unacceptable,” Russell said. She reported brutal gang violence, including systematic rapes. In addition, there would be hunger, poverty, cholera and climate change.

Haiti is suffering from fighting between gangs that control 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to UN estimates. Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse almost two years ago, there has been an interim government. In October they asked for help from an international force – so far this has not happened. Most recently, the vigilante movement called “Bwa Kale” (peeled wood) spread in Port-au-Prince. At least 160 suspected gang members have been lynched in just one month, according to the Haitian organization CARDH. According to the UN, nearly half of Haitians’ 11 million suffer from acute hunger.

In Port-au-Prince, UN human rights expert William O’Neill called the deployment of an international force “essential” and called for the implementation of an arms embargo against Haiti decided by the Security Council. “The human rights situation is dramatic, all rights are being violated,” he said at the end of a ten-day visit on Wednesday. “There is an urgent need for action. The survival of an entire nation is at stake.”

(SDA)

Source: Blick