Multiple gangs responsible for human rights abuses against children

Extreme violence and intimidation rife in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas

‘The lives of far too many children in Haiti are being wrecked’ – Agnès Callamard

The relentless gang violence in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas has resulted in a brutal attack on childhood in Haiti, Amnesty International said in a new report.

The 69-page report - “I’m a child, why did this happen to me?”: Gangs’ assault on childhood in Haiti - documents how children are being subjected to a litany of human rights abuses including recruitment into gangs, rape and other forms of sexual violence, abductions, killings and injuries. The disproportionate impact on children with disabilities is also documented.

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, violence by armed gangs has escalated significantly in Haiti, claiming an estimated 5,600 lives last year. Gangs control the majority of the capital Port-au-Prince, while more than 5.5 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

“Gangs have caused widespread distress in Haiti. They threaten, beat, rape and kill children. They have committed multiple abuses of children’s rights, including the rights to life, to education, and to freedom of movement.

“The lives of far too many children in Haiti are being wrecked, and they have nowhere to go for protection or justice. They are chased and at times killed by self-defence groups, while the authorities arbitrarily detain them. Childhood is being stolen.

“It is time for Haitian authorities and the international community, including donors, to step up their efforts. Empty expressions of concern are not enough. Children’s bodies, minds and hearts are violated every day. Haiti needs urgent assistance to protect children and to prevent further cycles of violence.”

More than one million children are estimated to be living in areas controlled by or under the influence of gangs. Researchers interviewed 112 people and visited Port-au-Prince in September 2024. Interviewees included children, government officials, Haitian and international aid workers and UN staff members. The research covered violations and abuses in eight communes of the West Department.

Prime Minister yet to respond

Last December, Amnesty wrote to the office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, presenting a summary of the findings. At the time of publication, no response had been received.

Rape and sexual violence

Gang members have abducted, raped, and sexually assaulted girls during attacks on neighbourhoods or after taking control of areas. Attacking girls while they are out on the street and deliberately targeting them in their homes is common. Gang members have also sexually exploited girls in “relationships” and for commercial sex.

Amnesty documented the cases of 18 girls subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence by gang members. Some were attacked more than once. In ten cases, the girls were subjected to collective rape; in nine cases, they were abducted. International law requires states to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution.

Two teenage sisters were abducted by gang members while on their way back from school and subjected to collective rape: one by five men, the other by six.

One sister told Amnesty:

“I think about it and tell myself, I’m a child, why did this happen to me?”

Several girls told Amnesty they got pregnant as a result of being raped. As abortion remains criminalised in Haiti, some resorted to unsafe methods to attempt to end their unwanted pregnancies.

In December 2023, a 17-year-old girl who lived in Carrefour-Feuilles was stopped by gang members when she went out to buy food one night. Dressed in black and with their faces covered, they took her to a house where five of them took turns raping her.

She told Amnesty:

“They said, ‘You’re not going to talk about this. If you talk about it, we’re going to kill you.’ Then they told me to leave.” She found out later she was pregnant: “It destroyed me… I have nobody to help me with the baby.”

Children involved in commercial sex acts are victims of sexual exploitation. A 16-year-old girl living in an area under the control of 5 Segon said she first got involved in commercial sex with gang members after she and her child had gone through repeated stretches without food.

She said:

“I don’t have a choice… They see you and say, ‘Let’s go’. If you refuse, they hit you with a gun… I could be shot one day. They grab you and they kick you. Some pay. Some don’t.”

Girls subjected to sexual violence by gang members require highly specialised healthcare to support their physical and psychological recovery. However, the limited health services in Haiti have been affected by gang attacks.

Survivors face several barriers to justice amid the general impunity in Haiti. Many interviewees had no intention of reporting their attacks to authorities due to the absence of law-enforcement personnel in gang-controlled areas. One girl, who was abducted and raped by several gang members in 2023 and sexually assaulted by a gang member in 2024, said: “There is no police… The only chief in town are the gang members.”

‘You can’t tell them no’: Gangs’ recruitment of children

Amnesty interviewed 11 boys and three girls who were recruited and used by gangs. They described being exploited in various ways, including to surveil rival gangs and police, to run deliveries, or to do domestic chores, construction work and vehicle repairs. All 14 children said they had no choice, and that they acted predominantly out of fear or hunger.

A 12-year-old boy said he was forced by Grand Ravine gang members to be an informant:

“If I didn’t do it, they would have killed me.”

Another pre-teen boy said he was forced by a gang to carry a gun to commit criminal acts. He told Amnesty: “What I did, I didn’t do with all my heart. I didn’t understand what I was doing. I held a gun, not to hurt, but to provide for myself.”

Some children were beaten and threatened if they refused orders. One 17-year-old girl said that members of the gang Ti Bwa sent her out to buy gifts for their girlfriends and to clean houses for as little as USD $2 (£1.62). She added: “Sometimes I say, ‘I don’t want to do it,’ they yell at me and say, ‘When the chief asks you to do something, you have to do it’… You can’t tell them no.”

The UN and civil society groups have documented the killing of children and adults believed to be associated with gangs by self-defence groups known as the Bwa Kale movement. Several children said they tried to conceal their association with gangs out of fear of retaliation from community members.

One boy said:

“If someone points a finger at me, life could be taken from me.”

The Government is detaining scores of children, including many who were allegedly recruited and used by gangs, alongside adult detainees in an overcrowded facility originally intended to rehabilitate boys. At the time of research, none of the boys had been convicted because the Port-au-Prince Juvenile Court stopped functioning in 2019.

The recruitment and use of children by gangs in Haiti is prohibited under international and domestic law; among many other abuses, it renders children victims of trafficking in persons.

Killings and injuries

Children are frequently killed and injured during gang incursions into neighbourhoods. In areas under gang control, they face both indiscriminate and direct fire. Amnesty documented the cases of ten children who were injured, and two who were killed due to gang-related violence and associated incidents. Their ages ranged from five to 17 years old. At least two cases involved crossfire between gangs and the police.

A 14-year-old girl described how a ricocheting bullet, shot by a gang member near her house in September 2024, pierced her face.

She said:

“It’s not a calm area. There is trouble all the time. There is so much gunfire. I can’t stand the gunfire.” Her brother was killed three months prior, also by a stray bullet fired in their area.

Significant mental health harm is being caused to children. A 13-year-old girl consistently experiences flashbacks of the day gang members threatened her family at gunpoint and burned down their house.

She said:

“I saw dead bodies… I get nightmares, I cannot sleep. I have visions of what I saw… I used to be able to study with no problem. Now it’s hard.”

Children with disabilities

Children with disabilities face bigger risks fleeing violence, including due to limited mobility and having to abandon assistive devices. Amnesty interviewed 11 children with disabilities, including children with physical and psycho-social disabilities. Researchers documented inaccessible conditions in displacement sites, as well as attacks on a school and a clinic for children with disabilities.

Many survivors remain hopeful their lives will improve. One boy, who lost a leg after being shot by a sniper, said:

“This story is not the end of my life… I hope my life will change.”

Recommendations

Children associated with gangs are victims first and foremost. Amnesty calls on the international community, including donors, to work with Haitian authorities and civil society to design a pathway for change towards lasting human rights-based solutions, and to prevent future cycles of violence.

Agnès Callamard added:

“The Haitian government and international donors should collaborate to develop a comprehensive and inclusive child protection plan.

“Programmes to effectively demobilise and reintegrate children associated with gangs, as well as to provide comprehensive health and legal assistance to survivors of sexual violence, are a priority. The government should also address impunity by expediting the creation of special judicial chambers for the prosecution of grave human rights abuses and violations.

“The massive flow of firearms into Haiti that enables gangs' widespread abuses must be controlled. Countries must also stop forcibly deporting Haitians as long as the gangs’ campaign of terror and broader human rights crisis continues.”