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STORY: UN / HAITI CHILDREN WRAP
TRT: 03:30
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 02 DECEMBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
02 DECEMBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Philemon Yang, President of the 79th Session, United Nations General Assembly:
“According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 365,000 children have been displaced by armed violence. Nearly 400,000 are now denied their right to education, with 1,000 schools closed due to insecurity. Many schools have been turned into shelters for displaced families. This denies children not only education but also a safe, structured environment.”
4. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Antonio Rodrigue, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Haiti:
“Without robust and continued support for our security forces, it is vain to imagine that children’s security can be achieved.”
6. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
7. SOUNDBITE (English) María Isabel Salvador, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations / Head, United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH):
“While enhancing police capacity and accountability is crucial, the international community must urgently strengthen its support to dismantle armed gangs and restore security. A failure to act decisively now risks perpetuating the cycle of violence and instability, with devastating consequences for Haiti’s children and society at large.”
8. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF):
“Armed groups are regularly committing grave rights violations against children … including killing, and maiming. So far, this year, we have seen a staggering 1,000 percent increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children. This is an abomination. To add to the horror, armed groups are also actively recruiting and using children in their operations.”
10. Wide shot, ECOSOC Chamber
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF):
“We estimate that children account for 30 to 54 percent of armed group members … while the total number of children recruited by armed groups has jumped by 70 percent over the last year. They are being used as informants, cooks, and sex slaves, and they are being forced to perpetrate violence themselves.”
12. Med shot, ECOSOC Chamber
13. Wide shot, speakers, journalists, press room
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
“You can't address the urgent needs that people have for food and for education and for some kind of housing unless you deal with the security problem.”
15. Wide shot, speakers, journalists, press room
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF):
“At present, up to half of all members of armed groups are children fueled by escalating violence, pervasive poverty, separation from parents or caregivers, the lack of social services and near collapse of essential services they rely on to survive. In Port au Prince, for example, only 55 percent of health facilities are functioning or partially functioning, while hundreds of 1000s of children have had their access to education disrupted.”
17. Wide shot, speakers, journalists, press room
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF):
“I urge the transitional government of Haiti to take action to protect children and ensure a safe and secure environment for all civilians. All parties must prevent and end grave violations against children.”
19. Wide shot, speakers, journalists, press room
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell said that armed groups are regularly committing grave rights violations against children in Haiti. “This is an abomination,” she added.
Addressing the ECOSOC special meeting “Haiti’s Children Cannot Wait’ today (2 Dec), Russell said, “Armed groups are regularly committing grave rights violations against children … including killing, and maiming. So far, this year, we have seen a staggering 1,000 percent increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children. This is an abomination. To add to the horror, armed groups are also actively recruiting and using children in their operations.”
She also said, “We estimate that children account for 30 to 54 percent of armed group members … while the total number of children recruited by armed groups has jumped by 70 percent over the last year. They are being used as informants, cooks, and sex slaves, and they are being forced to perpetrate violence themselves.”
Also at the special meeting, Philemon Yang, President of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly said, “According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 365,000 children have been displaced by armed violence. Nearly 400,000 are now denied their right to education, with 1,000 schools closed due to insecurity. Many schools have been turned into shelters for displaced families. This denies children not only education but also a safe, structured environment.”
Antonio Rodrigue, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, stated, “Without robust and continued support for our security forces, it is vain to imagine that children’s security can be achieved.”
Addressing the press after the event, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ambassador Bob Rae, said, “You can't address the urgent needs that people have for food and for education and for some kind of housing unless you deal with the security problem.”
Also addressing the press UNICEF’s Executive Director said, “At present, up to half of all members of armed groups are children fueled by escalating violence, pervasive poverty, separation from parents or caregivers, the lack of social services and near collapse of essential services they rely on to survive. In Port au Prince, for example, only 55 percent of health facilities are functioning or partially functioning, while hundreds of 1000s of children have had their access to education disrupted.”
She also urged “the transitional government of Haiti to take action to protect children and ensure a safe and secure environment for all civilians. All parties must prevent and end grave violations against children.”
