Genocide Watch includes Haiti in list of top 10 world conflicts to watch, “situation worse by the day”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – On January 1, the US-based Genocide Watch NGO published a list of the top 10 conflicts to watch in 2023: the catastrophic violence and mayhem in Haiti have been included on that list.

In its report on Haiti, Genocide Watch notes that the tiny Caribbean nation has been “paralyzed by political gridlock and rampant gang violence” since the murder of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. While the country’s interim prime minister Ariel Henry is backed by foreign governments, Haitians have not supported him, adding to an already devastating environment of anarchy.

Since he assumed power, Henry’s rule has been opposed by the Montana Accord, a group of opposition politicians and civil society representatives,” Genocide Watch said. “Henry was supposed to steer a transition to elections, but rampant insecurity has prevented a vote, and Henry also disbanded the election commission.”

Catastrophically, hundreds of notoriously violent gangs have been allowed to take over nearly half the country, Genocide Watch said. “They suffocate the capital, Port-au-Prince, by blocking roads and imposing a reign of terror, including using rape to punish and intimidate people, sometimes targeting children as young as 10.” While gangs have long existed in Haiti, their power has “ballooned” since Moïse was murdered, Genocide Watch added.

In a report published last month, UNICEF said around 2.6 million children in Haiti will need humanitarian aid this year due to the ongoing crisis in their country. “This is one of the most difficult times to be a child or adolescent in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake, and the situation is getting worse by the day,” UNICEF said in its report.

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