Video documentary from the Child Protection Unit of MINUSTAH
The video-documentary "Les enfants perdus de Cité Soleil" produced by the MINUSTAH Child Protection Unit selected for the Montreal International Haitian Film Festival
For more information please visit the MINUSTAH Child Protection Unit page
Developments in Haiti
The information below is based on the 2009 report of the Secretary General to the Security Council (A/63/785-S/2009/158) issued on 26 March 2009. More information is available in the report.
Armed elements in Haiti have been dismantled through military and police operations by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the Haitian National Police. However, children were used in violent political demonstrations throughout the country, roadblocks and lootings, as well as in the attempt to enter the Presidential Palace compound in April 2008. MINUSTAH military battalions reported that approximately 30 per cent of the protestors were children. MINUSTAH confirmed that children were arrested under charges of criminal conspiracy and detained, for their participation in the violent demonstrations. Children also continue to be used by armed elements to carry out abductions and weapons smuggling.
In the last quarter of 2007, MINUSTAH reported an alarming phenomenon among some armed elements in the area of Jamaica Base, Cité Soleil. These groups were equipping children with toy guns that looked realistic, and the children had approached MINUSTAH military checkpoints brandishing these weapons. Preliminary investigations indicated that the armed elements acting as political spoilers were using the children in an attempt to instigate public disorder.
The abduction of children remains a serious concern, particularly in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien. The majority of girls abducted were also raped or sexually abused. Students on their way to or from schools have been particularly targeted by abductors.
Despite an overall improvement in security, children were killed, mainly caught in cross-fire between Haitian National Police and armed elements.
Sexual violence, including gang rapes, against children perpetrated by armed elements in the context of insecurity and impunity continues to be reported. The report on sexual violence against girls and women in Haiti by the National Forum against Violence against Women (Concertation Nationale contre les violences faites aux femmes) estimated that from cases documented between January and June 2008, 50 per cent of the rape victims were girl children. The report highlights that the number of reported cases has increased, as a result of the improved security situation allowing girls to seek support without fear of retaliation and sensitization activities encouraging girl victims to obtain follow-up assistance.
MINUSTAH confirmed that 297 children, including 30 girls, are being detained in detention centres throughout the country as at the end of December 2008; 60 per cent of them are being detained for their alleged association with armed groups and 87 per cent are held in prolonged pre-trial detention, some of them since 2004.
Press Releases by the Special Representative