UNICEF Chief Details Unimaginable Suffering of Children in Haiti

Escalating Crisis for Children in Haiti

• ⚠️ The humanitarian crisis in Haiti has worsened significantly since last year, with children enduring unimaginable suffering due to brutal armed violence.
• 📈 Haiti is among the top five countries for verified grave violations against children, with a nearly 500% increase in such violations in 2024 compared to the previous year.
• 🚨 The first quarter of 2025 has seen a 25% increase in violations, with alarming rises in child recruitment (nearly 700%) and killing/maming (54%).

Grave Rights Violations Against Children

• ⚔️ Children are being killed and maimed in violence, with new actors and sophisticated technology increasing risks.
• 🧩 An estimated 50% of active armed group members are children, forced into combat, used as couriers, lookouts, or exploited for domestic labor.
• 💔 Sexual violence against children has reached unprecedented levels, with a 1,000% rise in reported cases in 2024, and a quarter of verified cases being gang rapes.

Humanitarian Access Denied and UNICEF's Response

• 🚫 UNICEF and partners face significant challenges in providing aid, with a skyrocketing denial of humanitarian access from 5 incidents in 2023 to 728 last year.
• 🆘 Despite dangers, including the hostage-taking of six UNICEF staff, the organization has provided life-saving assistance, treating 21,000 children for severe wasting and reaching 140,000 with safe water this year.
• 🤝 UNICEF is working with authorities on child-sensitive response systems and has supported the demobilization and reintegration of over 140 children associated with armed groups.

Urgent Call for Action and Support

• 📣 The UNICEF Executive Director urges the UN Security Council to use leverage to protect children, demand an end to attacks on schools and hospitals, and secure unimpeded humanitarian access.
• 🛡️ There is a call for security forces to prioritize child safety and for support to the Haitian government in investing in social services for children.
• 💰 Donors are urged to contribute to the underfunded humanitarian needs and response plan, which is only 10% funded, to prevent the collapse of life-saving assistance.