The head of BINUH, Maria Isabel Salvador, invited the international community to show solidarity with Haiti
On Monday April 22, 2024, during a presentation before the United Nations Security Council which organized a meeting on the alarming situation in Haiti, the head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti BINUH, Maria Isabel Salvador encourages the international community to show solidarity with Haiti which is experiencing unprecedented times of crisis.
In her statements, the special representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations said that it pains her to note that some of the worst scenarios for Haiti have come true in recent months and weeks, specifying that it is impossible to exaggerate the increase in gang activity in Port-au-Prince and beyond, the deterioration of the human rights situation and the worsening humanitarian crisis.
She noted that only 8.1% of the $674 million Haiti Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024 has been funded, she urged all Member States to continue funding this humanitarian response plan.
Regarding the deployment of the multinational security support mission, authorized in October 2023 by the Security Council in response to the appeal launched by Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador asked the international community to confirm the promises concerning this deployment, while recalling that in early March, gangs launched coordinated attacks targeting key state infrastructure, including several police stations and two of Port-au-Prince’s main prisons, as well as educational and health establishments and religious sites.
“The gangs also launched several attacks against the Presidential Palace, which gave rise to violent clashes with the Haitian National Police (PNH), causing numerous victims” she said, also pointing out that since March 3, clashes between gangs around the Port-au-Prince international airport have forced all commercial airlines to interrupt their services.
In addition, the head of BINUH specified that during the first quarter of 2024, around 2,500 people were killed or injured due to gang violence. This is an increase of 53% compared to the previous reporting period and makes the first quarter of 2024 the most violent since the BINUH Human Rights Section began recording statistics in January 2022 .
Driven by the lack of socio-economic opportunities, she informed that an alarming number of children have been recruited into the ranks of gangs where, not only do they risk being killed or seriously injured during clashes with other gangs or with the police, but they also commit acts of violence, including murder, kidnapping and rape.
She encourages Haitian actors to put aside their differences
Regarding the political situation, Maria Isabel Salvador said she noted that Haitian stakeholders have strived to put aside their differences to find a common path for the restoration of democratic institutions, in particular with the creation of a Presidential Council transition after the announcement of the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
She encouraged stakeholders to continue to put aside their differences in the interest of Haiti and its people and in particular to ensure the appointment of a Prime Minister and an interim government, as well as the rapid appointment of the Provisional electoral council to facilitate the holding of elections.
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The reference rate calculated by the BRH for this Tuesday, April 23, 2024
