Haiti: Unicef denounces that armed gangs recruit minors as soldiers

Published at: 23/04/2024 08:01 AM

The director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, reported to the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) that the armed gangs that control most of Haitian territory have recruited children as soldiers; they subject children to excessive violence during the conflict.

Russell highlighted that between 30 and 50 percent of the criminal groups that plague Haiti have child soldiers in their ranks; he also stressed that the thousands of cases of sexual violence reported in the country are due to the chaos and ungovernability prevailing since the assassination of President Juvenel Moïse.

For her part, the UN Special Representative for Haiti, María Isabel Salvador, supported the complaints of the highest authority of UNICEF and revealed the constant danger to which these children are subjected when they are recruited by armed gangs that force them to kill and expose them to being killed or injured in clashes with rival groups or the police.

Mazo News Team