“All these practices are outrageous and must stop at once,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
The report also pointed to the so-called “self-defence brigades” set up to counter the intensifying gang violence, warning that they continue to take justice into their own hands.
“Individuals accused of petty crime or suspected of association with gangs continued to be lynched, stoned, mutilated, or burned alive” by such brigades, it said.
At least 528 cases of lynchings were reported last year, including 18 women, according to the report, while 59 more have been reported so far this year.
“SHOCKING”
Despite an international arms embargo put in place to try to stem the violence, the report said that there was still a reliable supply of weapons and ammunition flowing across Haiti’s “porous borders”.
It called for tighter national and international controls to stem the trafficking of weapons and ammunition to the conflict-torn country.
“It is shocking that despite the horrific situation on the ground, arms keep still pouring in,” Turk said.
“I appeal for a more effective implementation of the arms embargo.”
Thursday’s report also reiterated the need for an urgent deployment of a Multinational Security Support mission to help Haiti’s police stop the violence and protect the population.
Kenya, which agreed to lead a long-awaited, UN-approved mission to Haiti to back its security forces as they grapple with the well-armed gangs, has put its plans on hold until the transitional council is in place.
Once the mission is established, Turk stressed that it would be “essential” that it “effectively integrates human rights into the conduct of its operations and establishes a compliance mechanism to mitigate and minimise harm”.
The rights office report also emphasised that enhancing security alone would not bring long-lasting solutions to Haiti’s woes, stressing the need for policies aimed at restoring the rule of law.
“Widespread corruption and dysfunction of the justice system greatly contribute to the pervasive impunity for grave human rights violations,” Turk said.
“They need to be addressed urgently.”
Source: CNA
