Statement by the Interim Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti on the recent violence in Port-au-Prince, 17 November 2023

« On 16 November 2023, I visited a group of some twenty children accompanied by fifteen women and several health workers evacuated from a Port-au-Prince hospital following the violent clashes between armed groups these past few days.

Since the beginning of the week, violent clashes have taken place between armed groups in and around the Cité Soleil neighbourhood, resulting in the murder and mutilation of dozens of people, including children, the rape of women and the burning of homes. More than 1,000 people were displaced by the violence, and at least 166 people, mainly civilians, were reportedly killed.

The clashes took place in the immediate vicinity of hospitals and health centres, bringing services to a halt and forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients, including women, children and newborns in precarious conditions. An orphanage was also trapped in the midst of the fighting, forcing 58 children to evacuate. These clashes have had repercussions on several schools, depriving thousands of children of their right to education. These acts constitute human rights violations and abuses, particularly those of children, which must be respected by all.

These acts of violence pose a serious threat to people's lives and deprive them of access to essential social services. They hamper the work of humanitarian actors, particularly health workers, who are prevented from providing emergency response to people in need.

I am deeply outraged by the alarming frequency of attacks on health services, schools and other basic social services, plunging thousands of families and children into fear, uncertainty and unimaginable hardship. Violence against the population must stop, so that Haitians can return to normal lives. The population must be protected and have safe access to the infrastructures essential to their survival. Humanitarian personnel and civilian infrastructures, including its staff, are havens of peace and must never be targeted. »

Contact : Yvon Edoumou, +50933025597, edoumou@un.org,