Has the international community abandoned Haiti?
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(CNN) --
A new report released by the UN on Friday accuses Haiti's powerful gangs of using rape as a tool of intimidation and control at a time when the Caribbean nation faces multiple crises.
Wide swathes of Port-au-Prince are in the hands of organized crime gangs.
A source in the Haitian security forces told CNN in August that the gangs control or influence about three-quarters of the city.
This Friday, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH, for its acronym in French) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported in a joint document that systematic sexual violence by these gangs remains largely undocumented and unpunished, and its victims have been left to fend for themselves.
Government of Haiti asks for international military aid in the face of crisis
Like other violent groups in the Caribbean country's tumultuous history, gangs vying for control use rape as a strategy to subdue civilians, according to the joint report, which is based on more than 90 interviews with victims and witnesses of incidents in the last two years.
It describes horrific and sometimes deadly acts, including gang rapes and brutal public humiliations, designed to wreak havoc, enforce territorial boundaries and punish civilians for perceived disloyalty.
"Rape has become a weapon," Arnaud Royer, director of BINUH's human rights section, told a news conference on Friday.
An anonymous victim of sexual abuse poses for a photo at Doctors Without Borders' "Pran men'm" clinic in Delmas 33 commune, Port-au-Prince, on November 19, 2021. Credit: Valerie Baeriswyl/AFP/Getty Images
Clashes between rival gangs have left entire neighborhoods isolated, caught between the "front lines" of street warfare and unable to go to work or access food or water.
Women who try to cross those boundaries to survive on a daily basis risk being attacked.
Even in their own neighborhoods, women and girls are forced into sexual transactions by members of the gangs that control the area, according to the report.
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And although women have been the main target of these attacks, the report notes that men and minors of all sexes are also targeted, describing the attack on a 12-year-old boy during clashes between gangs in the Tabarre area in April 2022. "After being raped, the boy was forcibly taken away by the assailants and, a few days later, his body was found, with a gunshot wound to the head, lying on a pile of rubbish in an area abandoned," the report says.
Survivors of sexual assault find it difficult to file a complaint, as they struggle with trauma and stigma, and are likely aware that justice is out of their reach.
Therefore, Haiti lacks data that reflects the magnitude of sexual violence in its streets, says the report.
As a cruel result, the report adds, service providers have not prioritized victims.
"We have to change our methodology," said Royer.
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The state asks for help
In the past year, Haiti has been thrown into chaos by relentless anti-government protests, the financial crisis, rampant kidnappings and the recent resurgence of deadly cholera.
Its health system is overwhelmed, and some hospitals have announced closure or suspension of service due to fuel shortages.
Last week, the Haitian government took the remarkable step of requesting military aid from the international community, a move condemned by the country's main opposition coalition, the Montana Group.
The Haitian National Police previously stated that it is outmatched by the country's criminals.
The flow of illicit arms and ammunition into the country is "one of the main facilitators of gang violence," according to the UN report, which maintains that gang members in Port-au-Prince are armed with sniper-grade rifles. military, belt machine guns and semi-automatic pistols.
Gang violence plagues Haiti 2:43
On Friday, a United Nations spokesman told CNN that the United States had circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution proposing an arms embargo, as well as financial and travel sanctions for those who generate violence in Haiti.
"Together with our close partner, Mexico, the United States has circulated a draft resolution proposing specific steps for the Security Council to address the security issues facing the people of Haiti, including a targeted weapons and financial sanctions and travel restrictions for those who foment violence in Haiti," the statement said.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also announced that the US is working to increase and deploy security assistance to the Haitian National Police in the coming days to bolster their ability to fight gangs and restore a stable security environment under the rule of law.
The US has sent a high-level delegation to Port-au-Prince, and will send a major coast guard vessel to patrol the waters around the capital at the request of the Haitian government.
Friday's report calls on the state, led by embattled Prime Minister Ariel Henry, to recognize its responsibility to provide basic health care and justice to victims.
"Although the ongoing armed violence may reduce the resources available, this does not exempt the Haitian authorities from taking the necessary measures to achieve the realization of a minimum of basic obligations of the right to health and provide an effective remedy and reparations to the victims. "says the report.
But for now, as the nation reels, there appears to be little recourse for victims of sexual violence and no repercussions for perpetrators.
"Since the state authorities are not here, the gang leader is the boss, the police and the judge," the report said, citing victims from gang-controlled areas in the capital.
CNN's Richard Roth and journalist Etant Dupain contributed to this report.
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