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Human, economic and social costs of small arms violence
by IANSA, Giffords Law Center, agencies
 
June 2024
 
Human, economic and social costs of small arms and light weapons violence: Selected global data. (International Action Network on Small Arms)
 
Concerns about the widespread availability and illicit trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and related ammunition have been raised over decades in various fora, including in numerous United Nations reports. In his New Agenda for Peace, which addressed the threats involving all types of weapons, the UN Secretary-General reported that “small arms and light weapons and their ammunition are the leading cause of violent deaths globally, in conflict and non-conflict settings alike.” He has also repeatedly warned members of the Security Council about the scourge of illicit arms flows.
 
This Briefing Paper provides selected global data and figures to highlight the massive global scale and impacts of violence and destabilization committed with small arms and light weapons (SALW) in both conflict and non-conflict settings, including the enormous economic and social costs arising from the illicit circulation, diversion, frequent misuse and inadequate regulation of such weapons and their ammunition.
 
The huge global cost in lives and livelihoods can be gleaned by considering various estimates. In July 2023 UN Secretary-General reported that: "From 2015 to 2021, an estimated 3.1 million people lost their lives as a result of intentional homicides, a shocking figure which dwarfs that of the estimated 700,000 people who died in armed conflicts during the period.”
 
In December 2023 he added that: "According to the latest figures, 260,000 people were killed by small arms in 2021 alone, amounting to 45 per cent of all violent deaths — more than 700 people daily, or one person dying from small arms every two minutes.”
 
A large proportion of deaths in armed conflict situations were committed or facilitated through the use of SALW. In addition, from 2015 to 2021, organized crime accounted for around 700,000 deaths. Considering that in 2021, 47 per cent of reported homicides committed with a known mechanism world-wide involved the use of firearms, it is reasonable to assume that deaths committed and facilitated with SALW, both directly and indirectly over the past decade, amounted to millions of lives lost.
 
http://iansa.org/human-economic-and-social-costs-of-small-arms-and-light-weapons-violence-selected-global-data-june-2024/
 
14 June 2024
 
USA: Supreme Court’s Reckless Bump Stocks Decision. (Giffords Law Center, agencies)
 
Today, the Supreme Court struck down a federal rule banning bump stocks in Garland v. Cargill.
 
Bump stocks are dangerous accessories that convert semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic guns that can fire hundreds of rounds per minute. After bump stocks were used to murder 60 people and injure hundreds more at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas in 2017—the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history—the ATF issued a rule categorizing bump stocks as machine guns and therefore banning their ownership.
 
Now, in a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court has recklessly undone this lifesaving ban and allowed automatic weapons back into civilian life. In his decision, Justice Thomas uses a narrow, technical reading to reach his conclusion that bump stocks don’t cause the type of rapid fire that federal law defines as a machine gun, in spite of their ability to kill scores of people in mere seconds.
 
Our attorneys filed an amicus brief in Cargill arguing in favor of the ATF’s rule banning bump stocks, which Justice Sotomayor referenced twice in her dissenting opinion. She reinforced the commonsense position that bump stocks act like automatic weapons and therefore must be regulated like automatic weapons, writing, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”
 
Additionally, as our team delved deeper into the opinion, we discovered that the majority opinion propped its argument up with information and drawings from the Firearm Policy Coalition—an extremist gun rights organization with alarming rhetoric.
 
While this is a reckless decision from a right-wing court beholden to the gun lobby, it’s not the final word on bump stocks. Congress has the power to take immediate action to ban bump stocks in order to keep what are effectively machine guns off our streets. Without action, lives are at risk.
 
http://giffords.org/analysis/the-supreme-courts-reckless-bump-stocks-decision/ http://www.bradyunited.org/about-us/press/amicus-brief-cargill-decision http://giffords.org/analysis/gun-deaths-in-the-us-remain-at-near-record-highs/ http://vpc.org/press/states-with-weak-gun-laws-and-higher-gun-ownership-have-highest-gun-death-rates-in-the-nation-new-data-for-2022-confirm/


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Like a war zone, the severity of the situation in Haiti
by Reliefweb, agencies
 
Oct. 2024
 
Haiti: Horrifying gang attacks leave at least 70 dead. (OHCHR, agencies)
 
We are horrified by Thursday’s gang attacks in the town of Pont Sonde in Haiti’s Artibonite department. Members of the “Gran Grif” gang used automatic rifles to shoot at the population, killing at least 70 people, among them women and infants. OCHA reports that over 300 people were injured in the attack.
 
As the attacks unfolded, gang members reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing a number of residents to flee. The attacks have displaced an estimated 6,270 people, or 1,281 households.
 
We call for increased international financial and logistical assistance to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti. It is crucial that the authorities carry out a prompt and thorough investigation into this attack, hold those responsible to account, and guarantee reparations for the victims and their families.
 
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for increased and urgent attention, support, and solutions for Haitians affected by violence and insecurity, including those who have been forcibly displaced.
 
UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, recently concluded a visit to Haiti, where he witnessed the devastating impact of the country’s dire security situation. Armed groups have severely restricted access to essential humanitarian aid, deepening the crisis for vulnerable communities with devastating effects for future generations.
 
Over 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, escaping violence by armed groups and the resulting widespread insecurity. Many face severe shortages of food, water, shelter and medical care in addition to severe protection risks, which Mazou heard about from those he met at sites for internally displaced people in the capital Port-au-Prince and in Ouanaminthe, at the border.
 
"Now more than ever, Haitians need our collective support, and we cannot turn a blind eye," said Mazou. "Increased funding, enhanced security and international solidarity are essential to providing life-saving humanitarian assistance and restoring stability and hope in Haiti."
 
According to the latest IPC analysis released earlier this week, 5.4 million Haitians (approximately half the population) are suffering from acute food insecurity, with 2 million—about 18% of the population—experiencing severe hunger.
 
Overall, the Humanitarian Response Plan remains only 39 per cent funded, having received $264 million of the $674 million required to provide life-saving assistance to the people of Haiti this year. The UN continues its call to Member States to step up its support to Haiti.
 
http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1159791 http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/09/un-deploy-new-haiti-mission-restore-security http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/united-nations-investigation-report-brings-207-number-people-executed-wharf-jeremie-gang http://www.iom.int/news/haiti-displacement-triples-surpassing-one-million-humanitarian-crisis-worsens http://www.iom.int/news/over-20000-flee-rising-gang-violence-spurs-mass-displacement-haiti http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/story/action-against-hunger-condemns-attacks-in-haiti http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/crisis-haiti-what-know http://news.un.org/en/audio/2024/12/1157766 http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-110/en/ http://www.wfp.org/news/hunger-haiti-reaches-historic-high-one-two-haitians-now-acute-hunger http://www.savethechildren.net/news/aid-agencies-call-action-extreme-hunger-spikes-haiti http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/one-six-children-haiti-one-step-away-famine-conditions-save-children http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2024/10/haiti-horrifying-gang-attacks-leave-least-70-dead http://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155991 http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5741-situation-human-rights-haiti-interim-report-united-nations-high http://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/unhcr-calls-continued-international-solidarity-address-displacement-and http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/23/world-leaders-should-stand-haiti http://binuh.unmissions.org/en/haiti-un-human-rights-expert-william-o%E2%80%99neill-concludes-official-visit-laments-bleak-situation http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/acaps-thematic-report-haiti-impact-conflict-children-and-youth-30-september-2024 http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/07/300000-haitian-women-and-girls-are-displaced-without-basic-safety-and-health-services http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/one-child-displaced-every-minute-haiti-armed-violence-persists-unicef http://www.unicef.org/topics/haiti http://reliefweb.int/country/hti
 
July 2024
 
One child displaced every minute in Haiti as armed violence persists – UNICEF
 
The number of internally displaced children in Haiti has increased by an estimated 60 per cent since March – the equivalent of one child every minute – a result of ongoing violence caused by armed groups.
 
According to latest estimates, almost 600,000 people – over half of whom are children – are now internally displaced in Haiti and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
 
“Children in Haiti continue to endure an onslaught of multiple dangers, including horrific violence and critical levels of displacement,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes is taking a devastating toll on children. Displaced children are in desperate need of a safe and protective environment, and increased support and funding from the international community.”
 
Displaced children and adolescents in Haiti are at increased risk of violence, including sexual assault, exploitation and abuse, and family separation. They often face disrupted access to services, such as safe spaces, health care, and clean water and sanitation.
 
Poor hygiene conditions in camps and makeshift settlements put them at increased risk of disease, including cholera, while school closures and financial constraints caused by the ongoing violence have forced many to drop out of school.
 
Meanwhile, years of political turmoil, alongside the devastating economic conditions, has fueled the growth of armed groups. In the absence of other means of survival or protection, children are increasingly forced to join these groups – a clear violation of their rights and a breach of international law.
 
With ninety per cent of Haiti’s population living in poverty and three million children in need of humanitarian assistance, this new wave of internally displaced people are also contending with what the National Emergency Operations Center announced as a “hyperactive” cyclone season. Last month, a tornado destroyed the homes of 650 children in Bassin Bleu, in the country’s Northwest Department.
 
The crippled healthcare system that was barely able to cope with demand before the latest escalation of violence will have to contend with a rainy season that is expected to continue to worsen the situation, threatening to spike water-borne disease in a country that reported over 84,000 suspected cholera cases.
 
“The needs in Haiti continue to grow, alongside the dangers for children. Everyone has a role to play to change the trajectory, and ensure that children get back to school, that they are safe, and that they have access to basic services. Children should not be paying with their lives and their futures for a crisis created by adults,” said Russell.
 
http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/one-child-displaced-every-minute-haiti-armed-violence-persists-unicef http://www.unicef.org/topics/haiti http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/humanitarian-catastrophe-haiti-requires-urgent-international-action-aid-officials-say http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/haiti-soaring-number-displaced-desperately-need-protection-and-aid-priority
 
Mar. 2024
 
Chaos across Haiti amid high risk of famine. (UN News)
 
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with aid operations at risk of “grinding to a halt” amid rampant violence as Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on Monday and armed gangs tightened their grip on the capital, Port-au-Prince.
 
The lack of goods and resources is worsening an already precarious economic situation, with water and basic services being “stretched to the limit”, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
 
The UN Secretary-General called on all Haitian stakeholders to act responsibly and expressed appreciation to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and partners’ for facilitating a way forward to resolve Haiti’s political crisis through a just-signed agreement to, among other things, appoint an interim prime minister, Mr. Dujarric said.
 
In Haiti, armed groups have taken control of many of the main roads, flights to Port-au-Prince have been grounded and incomes are plummeting amid a sharp rise in displacement, according to UN agencies.
 
Gang violence has displaced more than 362,000 Haitians, over half of them children. At least 35,000 have fled from their homes since the beginning of 2024, trying to escape the escalating crisis.
 
Media reports on Monday said Kenya is now pausing its plans for the support force following the resignation of Mr. Henry, who had in October asked the Security Council to deploy a mission to restore calm amid the growing chaos wreaked by armed gangs.
 
WFP said that while recent agreements between Haiti and Kenya enabling the deployment of the support mission are promising, failing to address the country’s hunger crisis could itself jeopardise efforts to restore stability.
 
The WFP’s Executive Director, said the spreading violence is keeping aid workers from reaching communities in need at a time when donor funds are drying up. “Haiti needs more than just boots on the ground,” she said. “Efforts to restore law and order must be matched by an equally effective humanitarian response to meet soaring needs.”
 
Aid effort ‘running on fumes’
 
Right now, the $674 million humanitarian response plan for Haiti is just two per cent funded, she said. “Our humanitarian operation in Haiti is running on fumes. We need donors to step up today so we can tackle the rising tide of hunger and halt the slide into chaos.”
 
The security and political crises are unfolding alongside a largely unaddressed food crisis. In Haiti, Jean-Martin Bauer, WFP country director, warned of an impending famine, stressing that there are levels of hunger in Port-au-Prince that are typically seen in war zones.
 
“Haiti is one of the world’s most severe food crises,” said Mr. Bauer. Food security has been fragile in Haiti since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020, but today, 1.4 million people are “a step away from famine”, he said. There are more than 200,000 children vulnerable to acute malnutrition.
 
“We need to ensure security comes back to the country. We need the port to reopen and stocks to be replenished.” If the situation in the capital continues, food prices will sharply increase over already inflated prices that saw costs jump by 25 per cent in southern Haiti in January.
 
Over the past few days, prices have risen by at least 10 per cent, Mr. Bauer warned. “That’s a recipe for a food crisis,” he said.
 
Mass hunger is related to unrest, strife and mass migration and without a strong food support for the population, the forthcoming multilateral support mission will not be able achieve its objectives alone, he explained.
 
While security is needed, a robust humanitarian response plan is imperative, he said.
 
Security and funding permitting, WFP hopes to reach 2.4 million people in 2024 through emergency assistance in cash and in-kind food rations and is working with the government to provide school meals and to implement longer-term programmes to help Haitian produce their own food, the agency said.
 
According to the UN Human Rights Office, more than 1,100 people have been killed or injured since January this year, the deadliest month in the last two years.
 
Outbreaks of deadly violence have caused major disruptions to humanitarian operations – affecting the ability of humanitarian agencies to reach civilians in need, especially those at displacement sites. Road blockages and movement restrictions are also impacting health care workers and compromising people’s ability to access basic social services. In the south of Haiti, the distribution of life-saving aid has been affected by difficulties accessing roads and ports.
 
More than 1,000 schools across the country, including in Port-au-Prince and other urban areas, have also been temporarily closed since mid-January due to ongoing insecurity.
 
9 Mar. 2024
 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned by the uprising of violence in Haiti since the end of February.
 
IOM's latest displacement tracking reveals that 15,000 people have been displaced within just one week, all of them having already experienced displacement.
 
Ten displacement sites have been entirely emptied due to the successive waves of violence, leaving displaced families traumatized. Urgent needs include access to food, healthcare, water, and hygiene facilities, and psychological support. More than 160,000 people are currently displaced in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area alone.
 
“Haitians are unable to lead a decent life. They are living in fear, and every day, every hour this situation carries on, the trauma gets worse.” says Philippe Branchat, IOM's Chief in Haiti, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
 
“Insecurity is growing at the national level: violence in Artibonite, roadblocks in Cap Haitien, and fuel shortages in the South. People living in the capital are locked in, they have nowhere to go. People fleeing cannot reach family members and friends in the rest of the country to find shelter. The capital is surrounded by armed groups and danger. It is a city under siege.”
 
The collapsing health system, attacks on hospitals by the armed groups, and the lack of health services further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. Some hospitals have been run over by gangs and had to evacuate staff and patients, including newborns. Medical professionals across the capital are sounding the alarm as their capacity to deliver even the most basic medical services is severely diminished.
 
Successive displacements, where individuals abandon everything, coupled with experiences of violence, rape, and overcrowded living conditions, have exacerbated distress among the displaced populations.
 
Across Haiti, 362,000 people are currently internally displaced, some several times over. More than half of them, 180,000, are children. Lack of goods and resources is amplifying an already precarious economic situation.
 
http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-emergency-situation-report-no-21-3-may-2024 http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/violence-sending-shocks-around-haitis-collapsing-health-system http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/crisis-haiti http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/05/women-and-girls-bear-brunt-crisis-ravaging-haiti-say-un-experts http://www.unfpa.org/press/world-must-not-abandon-women-and-girls-haiti http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-ipc-acute-food-insecurity-snapshot-march-june-2024 http://www.savethechildren.net/news/more-one-million-children-trapped-gang-violence-rages-haiti http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-situation-haiti http://www.msf.org/new-survey-reveals-extreme-levels-violence-haiti http://www.iom.int/news/waves-violence-storm-port-au-prince-haiti-further-displacing-thousands http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-98/en/ http://unocha.exposure.co/breaking-point-in-haiti-the-struggle-for-survival
 
25 Jan. 2024
 
Ms. Maria Isabel Salvador, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, statement to the UN Security Council:
 
Haiti remains plagued by a mounting scale of violence due to an unprecedented surge in kidnappings, rapes and other crimes committed by armed gangs that increasingly affect the livelihoods of people and undermine humanitarian activities. I cannot overstress the severity of the situation in Haiti, where multiple protracted crises have reached a critical point.
 
Last year, my office documented over 8,400 direct victims of gang violence, including people killed, injured and kidnapped, an increase of 122 per cent as compared to 2022. The capital accounted for 83 per cent of killings and injuries, and violence also spread to the countryside, specifically to Artibonite. South of the capital, gangs conducted large-scale attacks to control key zones and continue to systematically employ sexual violence in their areas of control, putting women and girls as young as 12 at risk.
 
While improvement to the security situation is essential to break the cycle of crises in Haiti, long-term stability can only be achieved through a nationally owned and inclusive political process. Although inter-Haitian dialogue and consultations continue, divergences remain on governance arrangements, hampering progress on the political front.
 
I echo the sentiments expressed by the Secretary-General in his 7 December statement calling on every political actor and stakeholder in and for Haiti to come together in good faith and in unity and determination, prioritizing and upholding the interests of the Haitian people above all.
 
I appeal once more to Member States to contribute generously to ensure the timely deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) to Haiti.
 
The continuous support to the Haitian National Police; the deployment of the MSS; a sustained political process resulting in credible, participatory and inclusive elections, constitute fundamental elements that can contribute to restore security and stability to Haiti, where consequently the rule of law, democratic institutions, and sustainable development become a reality for the people of Haiti.
 
Tiranana Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, acknowledging the Security Council’s efforts in October 2023 to address the crisis in Haiti, pointed out the unfortunate stalling of the MSS mission deployment. This has led to the worsening of the security situation in the country, marked by killings, kidnappings, sexual violence and a distressing doubling of fatalities in 2023 compared to the previous year, with nearly 4,700 lives lost.
 
The persistent political deadlock in Haiti remains a significant impediment to effective governance, she stressed, emphasizing the lack of access to fundamental rights and essential services by many Haitians, which has further fuelled recruitment by criminal groups.
 
Against this backdrop, she shared a story of a nurse in Haiti, whose three-year-old daughter suffered physical distress, with diarrhoea and vomiting, while the community came under attack. The assailants, attempting to breach her home, eventually left after throwing a Molotov cocktail. Two months later, the child remains deeply traumatized, unable to sleep and expressing fears of impending harm. Speaking to Human Rights Watch, the mother stressed the urgency of an international response, adding “we are suffocating”.
 
Despite the past failures and abuses associated with international interventions in Haiti — allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers and the outbreak of a cholera epidemic — international support is crucial to avoid repeating past mistakes, she said.
 
On that, she called on the Council to encourage troop-contributing countries to implement a robust human rights due diligence policy, including vetting force members before deployment. “The Council should reiterate zero tolerance for any misconduct by members of the international force and support independent oversight,” she stressed. Underscoring that the security component should be just one facet of a response to address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Haiti, she called for well-coordinated humanitarian and development assistance and the establishment of a transitional Government.
 
Additionally, measures to ensure accountability for leaders of criminal groups and their supporters are required, alongside with the efforts to curb the illicit flow of weapons and ammunition to criminal groups. “We also call on the Council to remind all countries to stop returning Haitians who are fleeing this severe violence,” she said.
 
Communities under Siege as Gang Violence Surges across Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect)
 
Surging gang violence forced Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, under lockdown on Thursday, 18 January. The once peaceful neighborhood of Solino was the epicenter of a multiday siege, during which dozens of people were killed while flaming barricades blocking streets and relentless automatic gunfire left residents trapped in their homes. Residents regularly called radio stations pleading for help. One unidentified caller said, “If police don’t come, we are dying today.”
 
Four days into the siege, the Haitian National Police released a statement saying officers were deployed. The siege has raised fears of escalating violence that could spread further in Port-au-Prince, as Solino is strategically located near neighborhoods that have remained largely safe.
 
In recent months gangs have significantly expanded across the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and beyond to the Ouest (West) and Artibonite Departments, prompting new outbreaks of violence. Gangs control over 80 percent of Port-au-Prince. Last year the UN documented 4,789 people killed by gang violence, an increase of 119 percent compared with 2022, while another 3,000 people were kidnapped.
 
According to local sources, kidnappings have been on the rise since the beginning of the year. On 19 January armed gunmen stopped and boarded a bus in Port-au-Prince, kidnapping six nuns and two other passengers in broad daylight.
 
Jean-Martin Bauer, Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator, warned, “Living in Haiti today means being forced to make impossible choices to stay alive. Going to school, the hospital or the market, cultivating your field or obtaining drinking water has become an ordeal for millions of Haitians. Because crossing the threshold of your house means risking death from bullets, being kidnapped by armed groups or suffering unimaginable violence of all kinds, including sexual violence.”
 
The latest UN Secretary-General’s report on Haiti outlines how gangs systematically use sexual violence to consolidate control over populations, while the rape of hostages continues to be used as a tactic to coerce families into paying higher ransoms.
 
Amid the unprecedented gang violence, on 26 January Kenya’s High Court is expected to make a ruling on whether 1,000 Kenyan police officers can be deployed to Port-au-Prince, where they are expected to lead the UN Security Council (UNSC)-mandated Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).
 
The deteriorating human rights and security situation in Haiti requires a swift and robust response by the international community. The MSS should be urgently deployed. The UNSC should update the list of individuals and entities subject to the sanctions regime for supporting, preparing, ordering or committing violations or abuses of International Human Rights Law, as well as fully implement the arms embargo.
 
* Haiti’s security forces are increasingly outgunned by the armed bandits who control most of Port-au-Prince. The national police have lost nearly 3,300 officers in the past three years, the force’s principal trade union said on Monday. Underpaid, and undertrained officers are running before they are killed by better paid and better-armed gang members, unions say.
 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) released its latest assessment of internal displacements in Haiti, reflecting the severity of the ongoing crisis. As of December 2023, more than 310,000 people are internally displaced. Of the currently internally displaced people in Haiti, more than half faced displacement in 2023, illustrating the ever-worsening security and humanitarian situation, especially in the capital Port-au-Prince. Concerningly, children make up a high number of the displaced.
 
The violence engulfing the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area is the result of conflict between gangs, racketeering, kidnappings and wider criminal acts. The extreme brutality faced by Haitians aggravates deep inequalities, high levels of deprivation of basic human needs and a fragmented security environment. 94% of internally displaced people in Haiti originated from the Ouest department, with the capital being the primary source.
 
The IOM assessment shows that women, children and men have been forced to leave their homes seeking shelter away from violence and destruction. More than half of them, 172,300, are children, a particularly vulnerable group. In the face of emergencies, the first responders are usually local communities, the data shows that outside the capital, host families accommodate people displaced. The figures for the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area paint a different picture, with only 45 per cent of IDPs taken in by host communities, with a worrying downward trend demonstrating the deteriorating situation for the whole population including host families and their coping capacity.
 
“The trend of forced displacement is showcasing an ever-deteriorating security and humanitarian situation. While humanitarians keep on doing their utmost to provide life-saving assistance and support, humanitarian aid is not the sole solution. More investments are needed in long-term solutions to strengthen State services across the country.” reminded Philippe Branchat, IOM’s chief in Haiti.
 
Haiti faces a multi-dimensional crisis. Not only is the country regularly affected by natural hazards, such as earthquakes, storms and floods, but it is also affected by violence spread by hundreds of gangs mostly in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince but also expanding in the provinces".
 
Haiti: Gang activity, climatic shocks drive 4.35 million people into high levels of acute food insecurity. (IPC)
 
Gang activity and climatic shocks continue to have a detrimental effect on Haiti’s food security situation. In the latest analysis, 4.35 million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity between August 2023 and February 2024. Around 1.4 million people are classified in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) and around 2.95 million people are in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis). No humanitarian food assistance has been confirmed for the projected period of March to June 2024, therefore, it is estimated the number of people in Phase 3 will likely increase to 3.03 million (31 percent of the population) – bringing the total population in need of urgent action to 45 percent.
 
Haiti continues to experience heightened gang activity, with increased kidnappings, armed attacks, robberies and sexual violence. This has forced major internal displacement to take place – particularly in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and the Artibonite valley (Analysis zone Artibonite HT04). Insecurity also continues to disrupt access to markets and the movement of people and goods including agricultural products. Rainfall deficits and drought also continue to affect Haiti, in addition to the periodical impact of natural disasters that continue to significantly affect people and livelihoods.
 
http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-ipc-acute-food-insecurity-snapshot-march-june-2024 http://www.savethechildren.net/news/more-one-million-children-trapped-gang-violence-rages-haiti http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-situation-haiti http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/crisis-haiti http://www.msf.org/new-survey-reveals-extreme-levels-violence-haiti http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/haiti-cataclysmic-situation-demands-immediate-and-bold-action-un-report http://www.iom.int/news/waves-violence-storm-port-au-prince-haiti-further-displacing-thousands http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-98/en/ http://unocha.exposure.co/breaking-point-in-haiti-the-struggle-for-survival
 
http://www.msf.org/new-survey-reveals-extreme-levels-violence-haiti http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-urges-all-parties-safeguard-children-amid-latest-unrest-haiti http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-calls-humanitarian-access-violence-and-unrest-wreak-havoc-haiti http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/haiti-cataclysmic-situation-demands-immediate-and-bold-action-un-report http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/haiti-turk-warns-deepening-human-rights-crisis-following-most-violent-month http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/support-haitis-police-deployment-multinational-mission-fundamental-towards-restoring-stability-country-senior-official-tells-security-council http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/statement-ms-maria-isabel-salvador-special-representative-secretary-general-haiti-and-head-binuh-enfr
 
http://haiti.iom.int/news/haiti-more-60-forced-displacements-happened-2023-year-growing-brutality http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-170000-children-displaced-amid-escalating-violence-haiti http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/25/haiti-escalating-violence-threatens-millions http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/atrocity-alert-no-379-haiti-sudan-and-yemen http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/haiti/government-haiti-and-humanitarian-community-launch-response-plan-assist-36-million-people-2024 http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-87/en/ http://www.unicef.org/appeals/haiti http://www.wfp.org/countries/haiti http://www.msf.org/haiti http://reliefweb.int/country/hti http://news.un.org/en/search/haiti


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