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STORY: OHCHR / HAITI GANG VIOLENCE - ENGLISH
TRT: 02:42
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 24 MARCH 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Aerial shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
24 MARCH 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, briefing room, spokesperson Marta Hurtado on screen
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Violence perpetrated by gangs has resulted in at least 1,424 people killed; operations against gangs led by security forces have caused at least 3,497 people to be killed; and attacks against gangs by self-defence groups have caused at least 598 people to be killed. Gangs have terrorized the population by killing and kidnapping people, trafficking children, stealing at illegal checkpoints, extorting money from businesses, and destroying and ransacking public and private properties.”
4. Wide shot, briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Gangs continued using sexual violence to spread fear among, subjugate, and punish the population, the report adds, detailing grave abuse on an appalling scale.”
6. Med shot, reporter
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Between 1 March 2025 and 31 December 2025, at least 1,571 women and girls were victims of sexual violence, mostly gang rape. Others, including children, were coerced into so-called “sentimental relationships” with gang members and subjected to prolonged sexual exploitation and abuse.”
8. Wide shot, briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Since March 2025, a private military company, reportedly hired by the Haitian Government, has taken part in security operations, including using drone strikes and helicopter gunfire. Some, or even most, of these drone strikes and helicopter operations could be described as targeted killings, given the apparent predetermined, intentional, and deliberate use of lethal force against individuals specifically identified in advance.”
10. Wide shot, briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Hurtado, Spokesperson, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The report also details violence perpetrated by self-defence groups and mobs engaging in so-called popular justice. Armed with stones, machetes, and, increasingly, high-calibre firearms, these groups have lynched individuals suspected of gang affiliation, as well as others deemed to have committed crimes. Some killings were, allegedly encouraged, supported, or facilitated by police elements.”
12. Wide shot, briefing room
According to new UN Human Rights report published today (24 Mar) on the human rights impacts of the expanding reach of gangs in Haiti, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,608 were injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026.
Spokesperson Marta Hurtado told journalists in Geneva that “gangs have terrorized the population by killing and kidnapping people, trafficking children, stealing at illegal checkpoints, extorting money from businesses, and destroying and ransacking public and private properties,” and have “continued using sexual violence to spread fear among, subjugate, and punish the population.”
According to the report, Hurtado said, “since March 2025, a private military company, reportedly hired by the Haitian Government, has taken part in security operations, including using drone strikes and helicopter gunfire” and have engaged in operations that “could be described as targeted killings, given the apparent predetermined, intentional, and deliberate use of lethal force against individuals specifically identified in advance.”
The report “also details violence perpetrated by self-defence groups and mobs engaging in so-called "popular justice," as “armed with stones, machetes, and, increasingly, high-calibre firearms, these groups have lynched individuals suspected of gang affiliation, as well as others deemed to have committed crimes.”
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stressed that “it is crucial that the authorities ensure security while fully respecting human rights."
