- Thousands of children in Haiti have been driven by hunger and poverty in recent months and have joined criminal groups, where they are forced into illegal activities and face abuse, according to UN Human Rights Watch.
- Criminal groups have increased recruitment of children as a response to the law enforcement operations of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and the Haitian National Police.
- The transitional government have equally been urged to provide protection, access to essential goods and services including education and legal opportunities for children’s rehabilitation and reintegration.
“With limited options for survival, many children in Haiti are drawn into criminal groups, where they become involved in illegal activities and face serious risks,” said Nathalye Cotrino, crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“To stem the violence, the transitional government should focus on improving children’s lives by providing protection, access to essential goods and services including education and legal opportunities for their rehabilitation and reintegration.”
During a visit to Port-au-Prince in July 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 58 people, including children associated with criminal groups; human rights and humanitarian workers; diplomats; and representatives of Haitian civil society and United Nations agencies.
Researchers also met with transitional government officials, including the prime minister, justice and foreign affairs ministers, the transitional presidential council president, the police director, and the multinational security support mission commander.
Human Rights Watch interviewed an additional 20 people remotely, and reviewed data and reports from the UN, civil society, and local organizations.
Criminal groups control nearly 80 percent of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and its metropolitan area, and are expanding into other areas.
About 2.7 million people, including half a million children, live under their control, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
While no official figures are available, human rights and humanitarian organizations and government officials estimate that at least 30 percent of criminal group members are children, and Haitian government officials have estimated that several thousand criminal group members are operating in the country.
Children participate in criminal activities ranging from extortion and looting to severe acts of violence, including killing and kidnapping.
Children associated with criminal groups told Human Rights Watch that hunger is the main factor that either compels them to join these groups or leads their families to allow it. The groups are often their only sources of food, shelter, and income.
A 16-year-old from Port-au-Prince said he joined the Village de Dieu group when he was 14. “Before [joining], I lived with my mother … It was really hard to get food and clothes,” he said. “[A]t home, there wasn’t any food. But when I was with [the group], I could eat.”
Girls who are forced to join criminal groups are particularly at risk of sexual violence. “Gabriel, the gang leader of Brooklyn [in Cité Soleil], asks his henchmen to bring him a virgin girl every month.
With the boss doing this, there’s no way to stop others who do the same,” a humanitarian worker said.
Referring to the girls in the Tibwa Gang, a 16-year-old boy and member of the group said: “They rape them, not only the boss, everyone, whoever wants to, can rape them. They are in the group to serve them with sex and cooking and washing clothes.”
Children in the groups are abused if they refuse to participate in criminal activities, usually with beatings and death threats. “Once, they told me to blindfold someone we were going to kidnap,” a 14-year-old member of the Tibwa Gang said. “When I refused to do it, they hit me in the head with a baseball bat and said if I didn’t, they would kill me.”
These children also face violence from the police and rival groups as well as so-called self-defense groups. The UN Integrated Office in Haiti documented cases of summary executions and lynchings of children between January and June.
All children Human Rights Watch interviewed said they wanted to leave the criminal groups. “I want to leave the street and not be in criminal groups anymore,” a 17-year-old Carrefour resident said. “I want to continue at school and go back to my family.” But families and neighbors often reject and stigmatize children who return, human rights officials said.
The first components of the UN-authorauthorized MSS mission led by Kenya arrived in late June to support the Haitian National Police in restoring security.
Humanitarian workers and children associated with criminal groups told Human Rights Watch they hoped the government’s security plan would address the specific needs of children through a protection-centered approach.
UN agencies, local organizations, and government entities such as the Institute for Social Welfare and Research have begun some initiatives to support children formerly associated with criminal groups.
Yet the government lacks a comprehensive strategy and needs more resources to ensure that all children receive protection, including through access to education, legal pathways out of the groups, and access to justice.
The transitional government is committed to addressing this challenge, the prime minister and other government officials said, but more international support is urgently needed.
With the school year under way, the transitional government should prioritize an education-focused strategy that protects children, ensures that security measures do not violate their rights, addresses their urgent needs, provides them a legal exit from criminal groups, and holds those responsible for abuse accountable. Funding support from the international community is essential.
“In its security response, the transitional government should prioritize protecting children associated with criminal groups by implementing specific disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs, as well as a broader approach, with increased financial support, to ensure their access to education and other essential services,” Cotrino said.
“Addressing children’s urgent needs within a protective environment like schools can help provide psychosocial support, foster social inclusion, and prevent recruitment.”
