Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Children in Haiti are being attacked, raped, shot at, recruited and exploited by armed gangs.
00:06Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021,
00:10gangs have continued to gain control in that country,
00:13reigning over a large part of the capital and leaving people there living in terror.
00:17Amnesty International calling now on the international community to act fast
00:22to protect the children who are facing wide-scale traumatic abuse.
00:26We can speak now to Senior Crisis Advisor at Amnesty International, Rawia Rageh.
00:31Thanks so much for your time and joining us here.
00:34This report that has been published by Amnesty International,
00:37really harrowing reading on many levels.
00:40What's the main thing that Amnesty has learned?
00:44In our visit to Port-au-Prince in September of last year,
00:49we were able to interview more than 50 children
00:53and their testimonies really highlighted to us,
00:56beyond the specific abuses that we documented,
01:00including the recruitment and use of children,
01:03the widespread sexual violence, the killing and injuries,
01:06the impact on children with disabilities,
01:08we could really sense how the widespread gang violence
01:12was essentially amounting to an overwhelming assault on childhood itself.
01:18Practically every aspect of children's lives has been interrupted.
01:24Children described to us how they are unable to walk to school,
01:28unable to even play on their streets, to step outside their house.
01:32And so that extent of interruption of daily life, the fear,
01:38the sense of compulsion and how children have been robbed of their innocence
01:45really came through in those interviews.
01:47Can you give us an idea of the size of these armed gangs
01:51that are threatening these children and how they're threatening them?
01:55There are hundreds of different gangs across the metropolitan area.
02:02At times they have engaged in alliances
02:06and coordinated their attacks on the capital,
02:10like we have seen in early 2024.
02:13At times there's infighting between those groups.
02:16At times they are fighting against the police and authorities
02:21and the international, multinational security force that was deployed.
02:25And they are—essentially children are caught in the middle of all of that.
02:30We have spoken to children who were used by gangs to run errands, to carry weapons.
02:36We have spoken to girls as young as 14 who were sexually assaulted
02:42at times more than once, at times by more than one man.
02:46We have children—we've spoken to children who lost limbs
02:50or families of children who were killed as a result of these attacks.
02:55And the reality is that it was so shocking to see how the violence
03:02has become normalized for these children, almost expected.
03:06But it has also been very clear to us that the children—
03:10the message from the children is that this should not be the end of their story.
03:15They've described to us that there are things that can improve their situation,
03:20including restoring their access to education and access to livelihood
03:24for their families in the gang-controlled areas.
03:27And it's incumbent on Haitian authorities and the international communities to—
03:31the international community to make that a reality for those children
03:35instead of perceiving Haiti as sort of an unsolvable problem, so to speak.
03:40And the situation on that front today, I mean,
03:42how much support is there for that kind of help to Haiti?
03:47We spoke to various child protection actors,
03:51members of the civil society in Haiti, government officials
03:57who are at the forefront of trying to address children's needs
04:01and work on child protection issues, including agencies within the government,
04:06as I mentioned.
04:07And they are essentially operating under really extremely difficult circumstances.
04:13They need financial support from the government.
04:16They need technical and financial assistance from the international community.
04:20And, of course, the aid is dwindling.
04:23There's massive concern about the dwindling amount of aid.
04:27Even before the recent announcement by the United States to freeze certain funds,
04:35by the end of 2024, the U.N. humanitarian response plan was only funded by roughly 40 percent.
04:42UNICEF, for example, was reporting a gap of more than 70 percent
04:48in the amount of money it needs to respond to children's needs
04:52and provide lifesaving assistance.
04:54So the reality is that there's a lot of concern, a lot of talk about the situation in Haiti,
05:00but we're not seeing concrete action in providing this crucial technical and financial assistance
05:06to Haitian authorities and to the Haitian civil society.
05:09And the dwindling funds to Haiti, is that because donations are being made in other parts of the world
05:16or is it just in general a less generous earth?
05:21It's a combination of things, really.
05:23It has transpired to us in our interviews that there is definitely a sense from international donors
05:32that they view Haiti from a lens of being a country that is in perpetual crisis, so to speak,
05:39that there are constantly natural disasters or political instability and questions around
05:45are there going to be partners for us to work with in Haiti?
05:48And the reality is those partners do exist in the Haitian civil society,
05:53in various entities, technocrats within the government,
05:57irrespective of issues at the high level of the cabinet,
06:02who are doing a lot of work and who need that assistance.
06:06NGOs are at the forefront of providing this humanitarian aid,
06:10whether international NGOs or local NGOs.
06:13That burden cannot be on them.
06:16The Haitian authorities have a responsibility and they should actively seek that international assistance.
06:23They should actively prioritize child protection, come up with a child protection plan,
06:28address festering impunity, which is only perpetuating cycles of violence
06:35and allowing and enabling this violence.
06:37And the international community should really act instead of just express concern
06:42in security council meetings and ensure support to Haitian police
06:47and, as I mentioned, to the very active child protection actors who have a plan,
06:52who have a structure, but are unable to implement this program,
06:57especially, for example, when it comes to the reintegration and rehabilitation of children
07:01associated with gangs.
07:03Rawi, we'll have to leave it there, but thanks so much for joining us here on France 24.
07:07Very much appreciated.