In the month of April alone, more than 600 people were killed in violence in the country’s capital, according to information gathered by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). This follows the killing of at least 846 people in the first three months of 2023.

BINUH said that overall, the number of victims of killings, injuries and kidnappings increased by 28 per cent in the first quarter of the year, with a total of 1,634 cases reported.

Rise in vigilantism

Mob killings and lynchings of alleged gang members are also on the rise, as “vigilantes take the law into their own hands”, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said. At least 164 such murders were documented in April.

The latest report from OHCHR and BINUH points to the emergence of vigilante groups, “following calls by some political figures and journalists for citizens to form self-defence organizations to fight gang violence”.

Commenting on the findings, the UN rights chief stressed that vigilantism will only “fuel the spiral of violence”.

Extreme violence

The report notes that gangs use snipers on rooftops to “indiscriminately shoot people carrying out their daily activities”. In some instances, gang members burst into neighbourhoods on a killing spree, “burned people alive in public transportation vehicles” and executed “everyone perceived to be opposed to the gang”.

The report also documents the use of sexual violence, including collective rape, “to terrorize and inflict pain” on populations under the control of rival gangs.

According to a local human rights organization quoted in the report, at least 652 women and girls were “subjected to individual and collective rape in gang-controlled areas over the past year”.

Root causes of a ‘human rights emergency’

The UN rights chief underscored that poverty and the lack of basic services were among the root causes of the gangs’ stranglehold over the country.

Earlier this year, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had warned that half the population of Haiti, or some 4.9 million people, were struggling to access food.

“The Government, with support from the international community, must do its utmost to comply with its obligation to provide people with regular and unimpeded access to clean water, food, health and shelter,” Mr. Türk said.

He said a “robust response” was needed to what he billed as a “human rights emergency”.

‘Coordinated international action’ required

Mr. Türk reiterated his call on the international community to “deploy a time-bound, specialized and human rights-compliant support force, with a comprehensive action plan to assist Haiti’s institutions”.

Last month, the country was on the agenda of the Human Rights Council, which adopted a resolution calling for the appointment of an independent rights expert on Haiti.

Sponsored by Haiti itself, the resolution called for “coordinated and targeted international action”.

In line with the resolution, the duties of the new independent expert on human rights in Haiti, William O’Neill, include focusing on the situation of children and of human trafficking and providing advice and technical assistance to the Haitian Government, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations to help promote and protect human rights.

Independent rights experts appointed by the United Nations rights chief in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions are not UN staff nor are they paid for their work.

More than 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, High Commissioner Türk said, making the country “one of the world’s highest executors”, with at least 209 people executed since the beginning of the year according to sources quoted by the UN rights office (OHCHR), in a press release.

Incompatible with international norms

Executions are carried out “mostly” for drug-related offences. Mr. Türk said this was “incompatible with international human rights norms and standards”.

OHCHR said that minorities were over-represented on Iran’s death row, and said that according to sources, at least 45 people, including 22 from the Baluch minority, were executed in the last 14 days alone.

“Most were executed for drug-related charges”, added the UN rights chief.

‘Abominable record’

“At this rate, Iran is worryingly on the same track as last year, when around 580 people were reportedly executed, said Mr. Türk. “This is an abominable record, particularly when you consider the growing consensus for universal abolition of the death penalty.”

Only a small number of States still impose and apply the death penalty, said OHCHR.

On Saturday, Iran executed Habib Chaab, a Swedish-Iranian citizen from the Ahwazi Arab minority, the rights office added, who had been charged and found guilty of “corruption on earth” – a capital offence under Iran’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Reports on Monday, said that Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare had been executed for crimes including blasphemy, said OHCHR.

Speaking before the Human Rights Council last month, Mr. Türk had called the death penalty an “atavistic relic from the past that should be shed in the 21st century”.

Speaking at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva, IOM’s spokesperson Paul Dillon said that according to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, more than 700,000 people were now internally displaced by the fighting, which began on 15 April.  

The number of IDPs increased in many areas, including the capital, where clashes were continuing, he said: “Last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000. And, of course, prior to the fighting, an estimated 3.7 million people were internally displaced in Sudan.” 

Fleeing in many directions

Responding to a question about where internally displaced persons were heading, Mr. Dillon said the data was currently preliminary and being analysed. They were moving into multiple states, including White Nile and Khartoum.

Decisions to move were influenced by many different factors, including whether there was conflict in any given area. However, it was difficult for the people to find money, with cash distribution stalled, and the banking system, in effect, shut down.

Fuel is also difficult to come by and expensive, according to IOM.

Deliveries thwarted

“The IOM has stocks of non-food items in six warehouses around the country,” said the IOM spokesperson. “But to date, we have been unable to deliver to those in need.

“The fighting must end and humanitarians must be allowed to resume their work, providing assistance to those most in need before the situation spirals further out of control.” 

Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday condemned looting at the main compound of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Khartoum over the weekend. This was the latest targeting of humanitarian facilities since the start of the crisis, now into its fourth week. Most, if not all UN agencies and humanitarian partners, have been impacted by large-scale looting.

Information vacuum

“At this point, we don’t have any information, we aren’t even able to confirm the extent of the looting in the Khartoum office, but reiterate that the food, the vehicles, the fuel, the assets that have been looted from WFP, go towards the response for the people in Sudan. And this directly hurts the people of Sudan,” said Isheeta Sumra, WFP’s Communications Officer speaking from the agency’s headquarters in Rome.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) also reported attacks and looting of healthcare facilities in Sudan.

“Since 15 April, WHO has verified 28 attacks on health, leading to eight deaths and 18 injuries. More reports are under verification,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević.

“These attacks include looting, obstruction of access to healthcare, violent attacks using weapons and the forced occupation of facilities. Unfortunately, the looting is affecting healthcare facilities. And this is something that severely undermines the possibility of Sudanese people to seek healthcare.” 

At the same briefing, the WHO said 604 people had been killed and more than 5,000 injured since the violence erupted in mid-April between the rival armed factions, although the UN has repeatedly said the figures are likely to be an underestimate.