Human Rights Watch has issued a warning about Haiti’s powerful armed groups increasingly recruiting children into their ranks, particularly driven by hunger and poverty amid a growing humanitarian crisis. Boys and girls are forced to commit criminal acts such as extortion, looting, killing, and kidnapping. Boys are often used as informants and trained in warfare tactics, while girls are sexually abused, forced into domestic work, and abandoned once they become pregnant. The gangs have been expanding their influence in recent years, controlling territory where 2.7 million people live, including half a million children. Nearly a third of gang members are children, with gangs controlling nearly 80 percent of Port-au-Prince and expanding into other areas.
According to Human Rights Watch, children cited severe hunger as the main reason for joining criminal groups, as they lack economic and social opportunities, police presence in their neighborhoods, and access to basic necessities. The state institutions in Haiti have been paralyzed by political crises and lack of funds, with gangs taking advantage of the power vacuum. Gang leaders are using popular social media apps to attract recruits, with one gang leader even having a unit specialized in training children on handling weapons and setting up checkpoints. The report details testimonies from children associated with criminal groups, humanitarian workers, diplomats, and representatives of Haitian civil society and UN agencies.
The escalating violence in Haiti since February, with gangs attacking prisons and state institutions, has displaced over 700,000 people, according to the United Nations. Girls are often subjected to sexual violence, forced to cook and clean for gang members, and exploited for the gang leaders’ desires. The lack of a state presence, economic opportunities, and access to basic necessities has led to children being pushed into a life of crime and exploitation. The United Nations approved a multinational police mission to help Haiti combat the gangs a year ago, but deployment has been limited thus far, leaving security forces struggling to handle the escalating situation.
Human Rights Watch has outlined several measures for the government and the international community to address the deep instability in Haiti, including providing more resources for security forces, ensuring children have access to education and food, and offering rehabilitation for child recruits. The absence of the state in many neighborhoods has allowed gangs to thrive, with children bearing the brunt of the consequences as they are forced into a life of violence and exploitation. The humanitarian crisis in Haiti is exacerbating the recruitment of children into criminal groups, with the lack of protection and support systems leaving them vulnerable to abuse and manipulation by gang leaders. Efforts to address the root causes of this crisis are needed to prevent further harm to Haiti’s most vulnerable populations.
