The Socialist International is appalled by the intolerable situation currently prevailing in Haiti and strongly condemns the atrocities suffered by our Haitian brothers and sisters. Armed gangs are spreading terror in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and in many other cities across the country. They are killing peaceful citizens, raping women and girls, kidnapping for ransom, and setting fire to homes, schools, libraries, hospitals, and administrative buildings. According to United Nations reports, the terrorist actions of these gangs have caused over five thousand deaths this year alone and more than one million internally displaced persons who have had to flee their homes and are now living in makeshift camps or simply on the streets. The massacre of more than two hundred mostly elderly people, carried out this month in the impoverished neighborhood of Wharf Jérémie, has shocked the global conscience.
Since October 2022, Haitians have requested robust support from the international community to eradicate the phenomenon of armed gangs. It is unacceptable that countries capable of providing assistance look upon the Haitian tragedy with a certain indifference, offering only words without extending help to this endangered people, to whom member states of the United Nations had promised a Multilateral Mission to Support Security, with 2,500 personnel and the necessary logistical and financial resources to assist Haitian security forces. This mission has still not been deployed due to a lack of materials and funding.
The Socialist International expresses its solidarity and condolences to the Haitian people in general, to the families of the victims in particular, and calls on the entire international community for urgent support for Haiti and the Haitian people. It is not humanly acceptable to passively wait for the gangs to take control and claim power. Immediate action is imperative to quickly and sustainably stop the atrocities committed by the gangs and to create the conditions necessary for the restoration of democratic institutions as soon as possible.
May the Haitian people unite to find together the best governance formula that can help them emerge from this crisis.
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