MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation of human rights in Haiti in particular related to gang violence

4.10.2022 - (2022/2856(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Željana Zovko, Sara Skyttedal, David McAllister, Isabel Wiseler Lima, Peter Pollák, Janina Ochojska, Stanislav Polčák, Elżbieta Łukacijewska, Miriam Lexmann, Tomáš Zdechovský, Adam Jarubas, Inese Vaidere, Michaela Šojdrová, Seán Kelly, Andrey Kovatchev, David Lega, Vangelis Meimarakis, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Paulo Rangel, José Manuel Fernandes, Christian Sagartz, Ivan Štefanec, Magdalena Adamowicz, Luděk Niedermayer, Stelios Kympouropoulos, Loukas Fourlas, Krzysztof Hetman, Michael Gahler, Vladimír Bilčík
on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0427/2022

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0452/2022

European Parliament resolution on the situation of human rights in Haiti in particular related to gang violence

(2022/2856(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on Haiti,

-  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 16 December 1966,

-  having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989 and its three additional Protocols,

-  having regard to the work and the reports from the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH),

-  having regard to the Statement by the President of the Security Council on 24 March 2021,

-  having regard to the speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the EP debate on 20 May 2021,

-  having regard to the Cotonou Agreement,

-  having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

1. Whereas since the President Moïse’s assassination in July 2021, gangs have acquired more power; whereas insecurity, worsened by increasing violence and escalating human rights abuses perpetrated by gangs, have affected 1.5 million people, left an additional 19.000 internally displaced and 1.1 million in need of assistance; whereas a socio-political and economic crisis together with insecurity and a gang crisis are converging into a humanitarian catastrophe;
2. Whereas the reported killings, including of minors accused of being informants for a rival gangs, persons injured by gunfire, disappearances, kidnappings, as well as extreme violence including executions, beheadings, chopping and burning of bodies, sexual violence, including gang rape of children are common methods used by gangs to terrorise and punish people; whereas gender-based violence was already common and one of the highest risks for girls and women; whereas there are reporting of presence of minors in the gangs; whereas these acts add up to the ones taking place in 2021;
3. Whereas schools, medical centres, businesses and markets remain closed and individuals are unable to find basic products such as food, water and medicines, because some gangs have prevented the local population from accessing basic commodities and are also blockading roads; whereas this adds up to the already existing food insecurity and acute malnutrition caused by the 2021 earthquake and other natural disasters as well as the increase prices in food; whereas humanitarian assistance is being hampered with attacks by gangs on humanitarian assets and partners and the blocking ports, airports and roads, and food security is expected to further deteriorate; whereas sanitation infrastructure already suffered extensive damage and schools were destroyed or heavily damaged after the earthquake;
4. Whereas approximately half of Haitians aged 15 and above are illiterate, the country’s education system is highly unequal, the low quality of education available, and the high fees charged for education excluding most children from low income families; whereas owing to security reasons and the COVID-19 pandemic, over 3 million children have been kept out of school; whereas this adds up to the acts perpetrated by gangs;
5. Whereas there is continued almost total impunity for gangs to this day; whereas the insecurity provoked by gangs is exacerbated by their ties to state actors and their alleged complicity with politicians;
6. Whereas the security context heavily affects the objectives of EU engagement with Haiti – i.e. rolling out a development agenda with sustainable transformative results, on issues like education and food security – as well as the efforts in the field of the EC Humanitarian Office;

1. Is alarmed by and condemns the grave human rights violations perpetrated by gangs; stresses the urgency of accountability as well as the importance of appropriate support and redress for victims and the importance for long-standing peace and stability;
2. Stresses the urge to take immediate actions to end the culture of impunity and to bring to justice those responsible and, most urgently, to ensure that humanitarian aid is accessible to the population; stresses the need for the international community to closely monitor the evolution of the humanitarian situation and needs of the population in Haiti and to continue its support;
3. Calls for the prompt conduction of free, fair, transparent and credible elections –as soon as the security situation allows it- in line with recognised international standards, starting with an effective and inclusive political dialogue between relevant stakeholders, including civil society, to regain the population’s trust;
4. Calls in addition for the proper restoration of independent State institutions, in order to determine and adopt measures to adequately respond to the different crisis affecting the country, in particular violence and impunity, and putting the country on the right path to achieve sustainable development; calls on the international community to fully support Haiti from the beginning of the whole process;
5. Points out that addressing the security issue is of primordial importance to allow the EU development and humanitarian projects to continue, for the benefit of Haitian people;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice President of the European Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States-EU Council of Ministers and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and the Government and Parliament of Haiti.