As the situation further deteriorates in Haiti, new UN appointees are being cycled in. María Isabel Salvador last month became the new UN Special Representative for Haiti and the head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).  She will play a role in short and longer term solutions that may be negotiated with the Haitian government, other governments, and regional organisations.  The Haitian government clearly cannot restore security on its own.  The full article by Miami Herald journalist Jacqueline Charles is linked and follows. 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has appointed William O’Neill as an independent expert on human rights in Haiti   He will monitor the human-rights situation in Haiti and provide advice and technical assistance to the Haitian government, national human rights institutions and civil society organisations.  Promoting respect for human rights should be an important aspect of re-establishing security, and one hopes, longer term development in Haiti.  The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald is linked and follows. 

The United Nations emphasizes that Haiti is in a dire situation and now is not the time to deport Haitians. The majority of deportations take place from the Dominican Republic with neither due process nor advance notice to the Haitian authorities responsible for receiving them. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports 154,333 Haitians were expelled by the Dominican Republic last year - about 87% of all deportations to Haiti in 2022.  It is true that insecurity in Haiti affect the Dominican Republic as well - but conducting mass deportations only makes a bad situation worse - politically, economically, and for human rights. The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows. 

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) works in difficult and insecure environments around the world, including Port-au-Prince.  Over half the city is controlled by gangs and fighting amongst them has caused MSF to temporarily close its maternity hospital.  Many health care facilities throughout Haiti have been negatively impacted by insecurity - to the detriment of their patients who need their services more than ever.  The full Al Jazeera article follows. 

In Haiti, Gang violence continues unchecked. Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, which serves more than 700,000 people in the Artibonite Valley and Central Plateau regions, has suspended operations for all but emergency cases. In Port-au-Prince, gangs are taking control of more neighborhoods and operating with total impunity.  Residents of Cite Soleil are essentially captive – unable to access food, medical care, and other essential services.  A New Humanitarian article about the worsening situation in Cite-Soleil by Evens Mary and Paula Depraz-Dobias follows. 

The Dominican Republic (DR) is again rounding up thousands of Haitian migrants, as well as people who just look Haitian, and deporting them.  The DR has drawn criticism for sending unaccompanied children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable people to a country that is in political and economic turmoil.  More than 20,000 people, Haitian and otherwise, have been deported in a day period this month alone.  As UNICEF put it, "These are not deportations.  It is persecution based on race.:" Even the United States has warned Americans with darker skin to stay away.  Deportees are placed at great risk, Haiti is further destabilised, and the DR again demonstrates its disregard for human rights. The full article by Al Jazeera follows. 

As Haiti's largest city, what happens in Port-au-Prince impacts the whole country - including hospitals which are unable to acquire fuel for their generators.  Hospitals with solar power have been better able to cope.  Konbit Sante helped the Hopital Convention Baptiste d’Haiti (HCBH) in Cap Haitien purchase solar panels which, in this sunny country, ensures at least some power is available. Below is an update from Konbit Sante on the situation in Cap Haitien.  Updates from NGOs outside Port-au-Prince remind us that Haiti's struggles are nationwide.  

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a brief but stark warning about the threat posed to Haitian children by gang violence, cholera, and malnutrition.  The situation in Haiti is difficult, but especially so for children.  Emboldened gangs, a growing cholera epidemic, and worsening malnutrition are negatively impacting the well-being of Haitian children.  The government is weak, the gangs are in many cases better armed than the police, and core development issues like agriculture, education, infrastructure, and human rights have once again taken a back seat to insecurity.  Restoring security won't solve Haiti's problems but it is at least a prequisite.

With gangs operating in almost total impunity throughout Port-au-Prince, catastrophic levels of hunger in some areas, and a growing cholera epidemic, the United States has decided to back a multinational rapid reaction force to Haiti.  This will not be a UN peacekeeping force and the USA is expected to play a major role in its operations.  At the same time, the USA has deployed a USAID Disaster Assessment Response Team (DART) and is expected to ramp up its humanitarian support.  The current situation is untenable and hopefully the multi-national force can help stabilise Haiti somewhat. The full article by MIchael Wilner and Jacqueline Charles in the Miami Herald follows. 

Insecurity in Port au Prince and beyond continues to negatively impact the economy, health care, and other basic services throughout the country.  MSF/Doctors Without Borders, which operates in insecure environments around the world, has temporarily shut down a second time.  Due to lack of fuel, clinics are suspending operations - this at a time, when cholera cases are increasing.  The UN is calling for a humanitarian corridor through which both fuel and aid workers can transit safely.  It wouldn't solve the fundamental problems but it would at least reduce the severity fo the current situation.  The full article article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows.