PRESS RELEASE
Brussels, 2nd of March 2024
Coordination Europe Haiti (CoEH) expresses its deep concern at the recent events of systematic and repeated violence perpetrated by armed groups in Haiti who are taking control of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and several other regions of the country. These criminals operate with complete impunity, spreading terror by perpetrating barbaric acts ranging from massacres of peaceful citizens to murderous attacks on entire neighbourhoods, leaving thousands of people homeless and forced to flee in all directions. Entire families are forced to pay exorbitant ransoms for the release of their loved ones, taken hostage by unscrupulous kidnappers. The chain of suffering seems endless, as the bandits defy all limits in their abuses.
Alarming reports from national and international human rights organisations, as well as United Nations agencies, bear witness to the trivialisation of human rights violations in the current context in Haiti. According to statements made to the press by the head of the United Nations Office in Haiti (BINUH), the year 2023 saw a 122% increase in the number of direct victims of gang violence, including people killed, injured and kidnapped, an alarming figure of more than 8,400 individuals. These reports highlight the systematic sexual violence perpetrated against women and under-age girls during attacks. These criminal groups are preventing access to education for thousands of children, disrupting the free movement of goods and compromising the operation of basic services, depriving the Haitian people of their rights and freedoms to live a dignified life.
Civil and political rights are being violated in Haiti, where the current regime, with no mandate, no agenda, and no control over the management of national resources, is vigorously repressing the efforts of civil society organisations to engage in dialogue and protest. The Haitian people, left to their fate, see their human rights reduced to nothing, as the authorities in power seem to be relying exclusively on international support and the hypothetical intervention of a multinational foreign force, as decided by the United Nations Security Council last October.
CoEH strongly condemns these human rights violations, which exacerbate the vulnerability of a population already facing enormous challenges. As a platform of European international solidarity associations with a long-standing collaboration with partners from Haitian civil society organisations, CoEH expresses its total solidarity with the Haitian people at this painful time.
CoEH stands on the side of progressive associations and all Haitian citizens of goodwill who have chosen to work for social transformation in Haiti to show courage in order to put a rapid end to this persistent crisis. It supports them in their determination to take their destiny into their own hands, to build a State founded on the rule of law, respect for human rights and the functioning of democratic institutions. Haiti, with its rich and beautiful history, must not perish.
Long live Haiti and its people!
