The UN’s human rights chief on Friday urged the international community to consider deploying a specialized armed force to Haiti, warning that violent gangs are creating a “living nightmare” for thousands of people.
The appeal from UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk came at the end of a two-day visit to Haiti at the request of a government unable to control gangs that are killing, raping, and pillaging in a growing number of neighborhoods. Violence has spiked in the impoverished country since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
The UN office urged local officials to hold elections, provide more training and equipment to a severely understaffed police department, and arrest those responsible for “gross human rights abuses.” It also once again called on the international community to urgently consider the deployment of foreign troops.
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