NEW YORK.- The Dominican congressman in the United States, Adriano Espaillat, expresses that the current political and humanitarian crisis that is shaking Haiti requires an immediate and effective response from the international community through the United Nations (UN).
The congressman (NY-13) recalls that the United Nations World Food Program, which declared a humanitarian crisis in Haiti in October, revealed that around 4.7 million people, almost half the population, face hunger and more than 100,000 children under the age of five suffer from severe malnutrition, making them especially vulnerable to a cholera outbreak.
It indicates that close to two million children, of the 4 million that there are of school age, are not attending school, Espaillat specifies in his opinion article.
It indicates that since June 2021 there has been an upsurge in violent confrontations between gangs that has generated a situation of generalized insecurity in several communes of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and displaced tens of thousands of people.
“According to the report of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), more than 50 women were victims of collective rapes during the clashes in July between armed gangs in Cité-Soleil of Port-au-Prince in Haiti, many of them in front of their children”.
Likewise, recently, 58 women were raped by these armed gangs that are disputing control of territories”, says the first and only congressman of Dominican origin in US territory.
He revealed that, in view of these crimes, he signed a letter together with another congressman asking the US State Department to apply the Magnitski Law to the leaders of Haitian gangs, and to the politicians who support them.
“This law freezes the assets of people who have violated human rights and who, among other things, have committed horrific crimes,” he explained.
He said that insecurity in Port-au-Prince, which accelerated after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, coupled with natural disasters such as earthquakes and storms, have exacerbated the already dire economic and political conditions facing Haiti.
“According to Haiti’s General Directorate of Civil Protection, as of August 31, 2022 in the capital’s metropolitan area, 87,895 people have been displaced by gang violence, including 21,684 in 36 spontaneous sites and 66,211 in 160 communities. /reception neighborhoods”, it meant.
He explained that, faced with this situation, from December 8 to 9, he headed a delegation from the United States Congress to the United Nations, together with congressmen Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Andy Levin (D-MI), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), María Salazar (R-FL), and Yvette Clarke (D-NY), with the objective of investigating the crisis in Haiti and evaluating the actions that are being taken and promoting those that must be taken to assist the Caribbean nation.
“As a United States Congressman, I am advocating for the assignment of a rapid response team to assist the Haitian National Police against the gangs that are keeping the population in a state of distress, not an occupation or military intervention, and humanitarian assistance to the people. Haitian, who deserves to live in peace and progress”, proposes Espaillat.
He revealed that there is currently a Canadian representation in Haiti evaluating the possibility of this nation leading an elite response team against gangs, to help the Police improve the country’s security.
“The UN is the body empowered to bring aid to the Haitian people, and we will redouble our efforts so that this aid arrives as soon as possible,” emphasized the congressman.
