In a study released on Friday, the UN warned that gangs in charge of the majority of the capital districts of Haiti use rape and sexual violence “to disseminate terror” and strengthen their hold on the troubled nation.
The investigation noted that criminal gangs had turned to rape, particularly mass rape, and other types of sexual violence in response to “outbreaks of punishment” in order to “extend their zones of influence throughout the city of Power or Prince.”
The deputy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashef, stated in a statement that “the number of cases is rising day by day.
Among the victims of collective rape are children “barely reaching ten and elderly women” some “, who were distorted and executed after rape,” according to the joint report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Office in Haiti.
The gangs abduct and rape women and girls, threaten them with rape, and demand a ransom from their families in an effort to “increase their influence.”
According to the report, women are “encouraged” to “create unsatisfactory relationships with gang members in exchange for daily sustenance,” which includes food and water.
The World Food Program had warned earlier Friday that Haiti recorded for the first time the presence of 19,000 people in the most severe food emergency, who had to suffice with one meal a day of poor quality food.
In its report, the UN agency found that nearly half of the population, or 4. 7 million people, experience extreme food insecurity.
According to a US Congress report published by the UN, criminal gangs rule up to 60% of the territory surrounding the nation’s capital, Port of Prince, and they have control over the key thoroughfares as well as the country’s primary oil facility.
According to the United Nations, the scarcity of hydrocarbons caused this, which decreased hospital work capacity.
It was regrettable that “impunity remains the rule” due to the fragility of state institutions, according to the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report.
The Haitian government requested last week that the international community send a “professional armed force” to help fight gangs in this aggravated circumstances caused by the cholera epidemic; Antonio Guterres reiterated this request.
United Nations: Rape is a tactic used by Haitian gangs to increase their power
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