Gangs in Haiti are recruiting children and targeting them with violence and sexual assault, Amnesty International said in a report detailing the effects of the long-running civil unrest ravaging the Caribbean nation.
A report published on Wednesday estimates that more than one million children live in areas controlled by or under the influence of armed gangs in Haiti, and condemned offences committed against young people as “human rights abuses”.
Haiti has no president or parliament and is ruled by a transitional body, which is struggling to manage extreme violence linked to criminal gangs, poverty and other challenges. More than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as a result of gang violence, about a thousand more than in 2023, according to the United Nations.
Amnesty’s report echoes concerns voiced by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, in November. The group reported then that gang recruitment of children in the country has risen by 70 percent, and that between 30 to 50 percent of gang members in Haiti are children.
The new report highlights 14 Haitian children recruited by gangs to spy on rival groups and police, as well as to carry out work such as making deliveries or repairing vehicles.
One of the children interviewed said he was constantly pressured by a gang to fight alongside it.
“They killed people in front of me and asked me to burn their bodies. But I don’t have the heart for that,” the unidentified boy was quoted as saying.
If children refuse to follow a gang’s orders, they or their families would be killed, according to the report, which relied on interviews and research conducted from May to October 2024.
Haitian girls are frequent victims of abductions, rape and other sexual assaults during gang attacks, Amnesty said.
The violence also has led to injury and death.
One girl, 14, recounted how a ricocheting bullet pierced her lip in September 2024. Three months before that, her 17-year-old brother died from a stray bullet.
“I lost a huge presence in my life. Since then, I don’t know how to be happy,” the girl said.
Amnesty also identified attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as the blocking of humanitarian aid, as examples of “grave violations” suffered by children.
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