WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Friday expressed alarm at the continuing deterioration of citizen security and the increase in violence by armed gangs in Haiti.

The IACHR, a principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), said gang violence escalated throughout last year, affecting almost the entire Haitian territory – from the capital Port-au-Prince, to different departments of the country such as Ganthier, Cabaret, Arcahaie, Carrefour, Gressier, Petit-Goâve and Léogâne.

According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 85 per cent of the capital’s metropolitan area are controlled by armed gangs and the massacres of the last quarter of 2024, such as the one perpetrated in Pont Sondé in October with 70 victims or the one in the Wharf Jérémie neighbourhood in December that claimed the lives of more than 200 people, indicate the complete breakdown of the security situation in the country.

The IARCH said this violence left at least 5,600 people dead that year, and 1,000 more than in 2023, according to figures published by the United Nations.

It said by October 2024, more than 700,000 people were displaced in Haiti and during the first 17 days of December alone, armed attacks in the communes of Port au Prince and Petite riviere de L’Artibonite caused the displacement of a further 21,000 people.

The IACHR said that according to the information received, the displaced individuals and families are living in precarious living conditions in camps, without basic amenities, in terror and facing a lack of security. This especially affects women and girls, according to UN Women.

“Civil society organisations denounce these violations and the absence of rule of law, no access to justice and impunity. The efforts of the National Police (PNH) and the armed forces to control the armed gangs, with the support of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS), deployed in June 2024 are inadequate to meet the scale of the harm to which the population is exposed,” said UN Women.

The IACHR said that the paralysis of the judiciary due to multiple attacks against its main institutions reinforces such a climate of impunity

“In this context, the IACHR reiterates its call to the international community to intensify efforts to support the Haitian State and people in facing the serious multidimensional crisis it is experiencing.

“This includes ensuring that a diversity of civil society actors is consulted and can meaningfully participate in discussions and actions to stabilize the political processes and improve security,” said that IACHR, whose mandate derives from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights.