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 estimates that more than one million children live in areas controlled by or under the influence of armed gangs in Haiti, and condemned offenses 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.
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