The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation of human rights in Haiti in particular related to gang violence.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, ECR, The Left groups and Members.
The humanitarian situation in Haiti has continually deteriorated in recent years due to ongoing insecurity in the country. Since President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in July 2021, gangs have drastically acquired more power, creating an omnipresent sense of insecurity for the Haitian population. The increasing violence and escalating human rights abuses have affected 1.5 million people and have left an additional 19 000 people internally displaced and 1.1 million people in need of assistance. This socio-political and economic crisis is converging with the general insecurity and gang crisis into a humanitarian catastrophe.
There are as many as 200 gangs in Haiti some of whom have ties to state actors and alleged connections to politicians, threaten to destabilise the government with their greater resources and weaponry. Gangs have exerted power and control over territory, access to fuel and the delivery of humanitarian aid, challenging the authority of the Haitian national police and other state institutions and hindering the national police’s ability to combat drug trafficking and other crimes.
Parliament strongly condemned the acts of violence and destruction carried out by gangs in Haiti and deplored the looting of food and aid supplies and attacks against humanitarian workers. It recalled that women and girls require particular attention and help when it comes to access to healthcare and protection against sexual violence. It demanded an immediate cessation of gang violence and criminal activities and called on the EU and its Member States to take appropriate measures, including asset freezes and travel bans against those engaged in or supporting gang violence, criminal activities or human rights abuses, including corruption.
The Haitian authorities are called on to ensure better governance at all levels of the state and society, including the fight against corruption and bring those responsible to justice in fair trials.
The resolution called on all stakeholders in Haiti to establish a durable, time-bound and commonly accepted solution to allow for fair legislative and presidential elections. Haitian authorities need to ensure better governance at all levels of the state and society.
Lastly, while welcoming the EU’s allocation of EUR 17 million to support the most vulnerable in Haiti and other countries in the Caribbean, the Commission is called on to continue prioritising humanitarian aid to Haiti and to ensure that the provision of humanitarian aid, notably emergency food aid, is efficiently linked to its development strategy and that it directly benefits the populations in need.