UNICEF Warns of Crisis Facing Haiti’s Youth

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), warned on Friday of the crisis facing Haiti’s children, as violent clashes this week between security forces and armed groups on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince have led to another wave of displacement, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

unceffoIn a briefing on Friday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that more than 1,600 men, women and children have fled. 

Two-thirds are seeking refuge with host families and over 500 sheltering in three newly established displacement sites, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

UNICEF said the situation for children “remains particularly dire,” with the number of internally displaced children in Haiti increased by nearly 50 per cent since September, now exceeding half a million. 

UNICEF said that approximately one in eight children in the country is now displaced. 

The agency also warned of a 70 per cent rise in child recruitment by gangs over the past year, with up to half of gang members in Haiti now estimated to be children.

described the growing desperation:

“I’m in a prison in Port-au-Prince where dozens of children are being held,” said  UNICEF spokesperson James Elder speaking from a prison in Port-au-Prince where dozens of children are being held.

He said that 85 per cent of this capital city is controlled by armed groups. 

“So, child recruitment into armed groups is rampant. Children get recruited. It’s out of desperation. It’s out of manipulation, out of being engulfed in violence,” Elder said. 

Mentioning a 16-year-old girl who dreamt of being a pediatrician, but was caught up in a raid, he said: “The point of this is that childhood should not be a gift. Childhood is a right.”

The UN said the crisis is further aggravated by forced returns from neighboring countries. 

In the first two weeks of January alone, the UN said nearly 15,000 Haitians were returned from the Dominican Republic, adding to the 200,000 people deported across the region last year. 

Meanwhile, the UN said natural disasters have worsened conditions across the country. 

Since November, the UN said nearly 330,000 people have been affected by floods in six of Haiti’s departments, leaving dozens dead and damaging or destroying nearly 50,000 homes.

The UN said it has launched a US$908 million humanitarian appeal to assist 3.9 million people in Haiti this year. 

“We urge the international community to scale up its support so that we and our humanitarian partners can support the people of Haiti who need it,” said Dujarric. 

As conditions deteriorate, the UN said agencies and humanitarian organizations stress the need for urgent international action to protect Haiti’s most vulnerable, particularly its children – trapped in a cycle of violence, displacement and deprivation. 

“For those of us with freedom, those with safety, those who have an opportunity – we also have a responsibility. We have a responsibility to raise our voices for those who simply do not have one,” Elder said.