The UN says January was Haiti's most violent month in
two years.
In January alone, more than
1100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in the country.
The Western Hemisphere's poorest nation has been grappling with a
wave of gang violence.
Some armed groups have even taken over parts of the
country.
The UN rights chief warns that the expanding gang violence
is creating disastrous consequences for Haitians.
Well, to delve deeper into this story,
we can now speak to Renata Segura,
deputy program director at the International Crisis Group.
Thanks very much for joining us on the programme.
Gang violence has dogged Haiti for years now.
January was the most violent month.
Why has the situation become so dire?
Well, since the assassination of President Moyes in July of
2021, we'd really have seen what amounts to an almost
failed state
without a precedent, without a real police force that is
able to secure the country.
The gangs that have existed for many decades in Haiti
have been taking control of more and more territory,
and they're fighting each other as well as the police
to control these areas.
They extort, they kidnap and they try to really strengthen
the way in which they control particularly roads to be
able to make money
and and have bigger control over over both population and
territory.
And this is all happening as protests have been going
on demanding that Prime Minister Ariel on he stepped down
after he failed to hold elections this month.
He says the votes will be held when security situation
improves.
Do you see him giving up power anytime soon?
It doesn't seem that way.
So the press the Prime Minister had signed an agreement
in December
2021 in which he had promised to convene elections in
2023 and step down by February 7th of
2024. That did not happen.
In his defense, it is very difficult to see how
Haiti would be able to conduct a fair election at
this point.
There is no territorial control.
The gangs will have real power over who gets to
the polls,
so it would be very difficult at this point.
But we have also seen Henry not really come to
the table
to negotiate with the opposition to construct a transitional,
just government that is fair and that is seen as
legitimate.
The majority of Haitians do not like Henry.
He has been appointed, really,
by the international community. Nobody ever elected him to power,
and he is widely disliked among most of Haitians.
However, with no clear path of succession,
with no clear sense of who would take power after
him if he was to resign,
the international community has continued to support him.
And there's it's been extremely difficult to come to an
agreement in which there could be some form of power
sharing between Henry and those in the opposition.
It seems right now that Henry is going to stay
in power
very much with the support of the international community.
So the situation is clearly difficult politically,
but also socially as well.
Haiti is the most poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere.
Is there any hope for the country?
I mean you always hope that there is going to
be hope for the country and even though it's sort
of
common thing to say that
people that are in dire straits are resilient,
Haitians really are very resilient.
There is obviously right now a lot of expectation about
the possibility of a multinational support mission coming to Haiti.
These will be essentially police
as of now led by Kenya,
but with the support of other countries that would come
to support the national police to take over
some of these combats with with the gangs and to
be able to regain some territory,
you know take away from from the arms armed groups.
How how likely this is going to happen and we
don't know for sure.
There has been a decision by the Constitutional Court in
Kenya that has stopped the deployment of of the mission
that was supposed to be arriving around.
Now both the Kenyan government and the
US and others that are supportive of the initiative are
trying to figure out ways in which the the mission
can move forward.
Even though it's going to be a very difficult situation
for the mission,
if it does arrive, we do have hope that it
would change the situation on the ground and that it
would strengthen the national police to be able to take
control of some of the country back and allow a
bit of normality.
Renata Sugura, deputy program director at the International Crisis Group,
thank you so much for joining us on the program.
Thank you for your insight.
Thank you for having me.