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STORY: UN / HAITI HUMAN RIGHTS
TRT: 2:17
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 28 MARCH 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, flag outside UN Headquarters
28 MARCH 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press room dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) William O’Neill, Designated Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“If this takes much longer, there may not be much of an HNP, a Haitian National Police to support. So, it is more than urgent that the force gets in there in some way, shape or form as soon as possible.”
4. Wide shot, press room dais
5. SOUNDBITE (English) William O’Neill, Designated Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, Office of the 6. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Port au Prince and the surrounding area is essentially an open-air prison. There's no way out. Air, land, or sea. And in fact, it's not even so open air anymore because people are often afraid to leave their houses, literally leaving their house to go to a market if it's open, is a life and threatening, adventure for them.”
7. Wide shot, press room dais
8. SOUNDBITE (English) William O’Neill, Designated Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“What's happened recently is attacks, specifically on hospitals. Over 18 have been documented. I think, barely half the hospitals in port au Prince now function. And if the ones that are functioning, barely. You have a tax on schools, I mentioned earlier. A school was set on fire three days ago. I just learned this morning L'Ecole Normale, which is one of the elite academic institutions in Haiti was set on fire last night. You have an attack on the Central Bank offices. You had two attempts to take the National Palace. You have human rights defenders and journalists being targeted. So, this is extremely alarming. The gangs have turned their violence, towards people that, for whatever reason, they see as a threat to their continued control.”
9. Wide shot, press room dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) William O’Neill, Designated Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The gangs use sexual violence to terrorise, to intimidate, to control. And it's a power, and it's just horrendous. And there's very, very limited services for the survivors and victims of these attacks.”
11. Wide shot, press room dais
12. SOUNDBITE (English) William O’Neill, Designated Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Port au Prince, everything's so much in Haiti, it's so centralised. Things come in, things come out, the commodities, and you have the gangs controlling the port, the main maritime port. Hundreds and hundreds of containers are now they're either looted or can't get out. And to the airport. The airport's been closed. It'll be for weeks soon. So, for anything to move - usually it comes in to port au Prince, then go out to the countryside- it can't.”
13. Zoom out, end of presser
Presenting a new report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the situation in Haiti, Human rights expert William O’Neill today (26 Mar) said that if the deployment of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission “takes much longer, there may not be much” of a Haitian National Police (HNP) to support.
O’Neill, who is the Designated Expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, said, “it is more than urgent that the force gets in there in some way, shape or form as soon as possible.”
He told journalists in New York that “Port au Prince and the surrounding area is essentially an open-air prison. There's no way out. Air, land, or sea. And in fact, it's not even so open air anymore because people are often afraid to leave their houses, literally leaving their house to go to a market if it's open, is a life and threatening, adventure for them.”
Describing the situation, the human rights expert said, “what's happened recently is attacks specifically on hospitals. Over 18 have been documented. I think, barely half the hospitals in port au Prince now function. And if the ones that are functioning, barely. You have a tax on schools, I mentioned earlier. A school was set on fire three days ago. I just learned this morning L'Ecole Normale, which is one of the elite academic institutions in Haiti was set on fire last night. You have an attack on the Central Bank offices. You had two attempts to take the National Palace. You have human rights defenders and journalists being targeted. So, this is extremely alarming. The gangs have turned their violence, towards people that, for whatever reason, they see as a threat to their continued control.”
O’Neill said, “the gangs use sexual violence to terrorise, to intimidate, to control. And it's a power, and it's just horrendous. And there's very, very limited services for the survivors and victims of these attacks.”
Asked about the situation in areas outside the capital, he responded that while the security situation is better, there is no access to commodities.
O’Neill said, “Port au Prince, everything's so much in Haiti, it's so centralised. Things come in, things come out, the commodities, and you have the gangs controlling the port, the main maritime port. Hundreds and hundreds of containers are now they're either looted or can't get out. And to the airport. The airport's been closed. It'll be for weeks soon. So, for anything to move - usually it comes in to port au Prince, then go out to the countryside- it can't.”
The UN Security Council in October authorized the deployment of an international security mission to help Haiti’s national police quell surging gang violence and restore security across the strife-torn Caribbean nation.
The mission was requested by the Haitian Government and civil society representatives, following months of chaos and steadily worsening conditions affecting civilians.
The Mission is yet to be deployed.
The report published today calls for immediate and bold action to tackle the “cataclysmic” situation in Haiti.
The report covers the period from 25 September 2023 to 29 February 2024 and includes information provided by the Human Rights Service of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), as well as information gathered by the Designated Expert.
