UN independent human rights experts have raised an alarm about the ongoing violations of women and girls’ rights in Haiti, a disturbing issue they assert to be “continuing with impunity”. This troubling situation has been brought about, in part, by increasing levels of violence, corruption, and poorly-executed governance that are in turn undermining the rule of law in the Caribbean nation and resulting in decrements to the integrity of the justice system.
It is the assertation of these experts that women and girls in Haiti are suffering disproportionately from the crisis, with the aggravating factors of their pre-existing societal inequalities and inherent gender-based discrimination making matters exceedingly worse. Criminal gangs in the country, they argue, continue to use sexual violence against women and girls in a strategic yet heinous effort to instill fear, forcibly acquire money, attain power, and levy punishments on local communities. The forms of violence being perpetrated are reported to include trafficking, sexual exploitation and even forced sexual slavery. The experts have thus made a call to these criminal gangs to cease all forms of gender-based violence.
The authorities in Haiti have drawn criticism from the experts, being labeled as failing in their duty to protect and fulfill the rights of women and girls amid the crisis. The experts have gone on to push for the powers that be to take the necessary steps to ensure that women are included and active in the peacebuilding process. These calls align with the dictates of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a piece of legislature that calls on all relevant parties to enact special measures geared towards the protection of women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence.
In Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, gangs are reputed to be controlling approximately 80 percent of the city’s landscape, a problematic situation which has seen a steep rise in gang violence over the years. This surge has further compounded the human rights situation and deepened the humanitarian crisis the country is currently grappling with. In the wake of these developments, the UN Secretary-General on April 27 began urging the Haitian authorities to expedite the appointment of a new prime minister and cabinet immediately following the official appointment of a Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) and the resignation of the then Prime Minister, Ariel Henry.
For more in-depth coverage of this ongoing situation, have a look at the full article here.