He and others spoke to Eline Joseph, who works for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Port-au-Prince with a team which provides psychosocial support to people who have fled their homes because of the violence and insecurity.

She spoke to UN News about her working life and supporting her family.

“I have to say it has become more difficult to do my job as I am unable to move about freely and provide care to displaced people, especially those who are located in red zones, which are too dangerous to visit.

The insecurity in Haiti is unprecedented – extreme violence, attacks by armed gangs, kidnappings. Nobody is safe. Everyone is at risk of becoming a victim. The situation can change from minute to minute, so we have to remain vigilant at all times.

Loss of identity

Recently, I met a community of farmers who were forced, due to gang activity, to leave their very fertile land on the hills outside Petionville [a neighbourhood in the southeast of Port-au-Prince] where they grew vegetables.

One of the leaders told me how they have lost their way of life, how they could no longer breath the fresh mountain air and live off the fruits of their labour. They are now living in a site for displaced people with people they do not know, with little access to water and proper sanitation and the same food every day.

He told me that he is not the person that he once was, that he has lost his identity, which he said was all he possessed in the world. He said he no longer amounts to anything.

I have heard some desperate stories from men who have been forced to witness the rape of their wives and daughters, some of whom were infected with HIV. These men could do nothing to protect their families, and many feel responsible for what happened. One man said that he felt worthless and was having suicidal thoughts.

Workers from a local UN NGO partner, UCCEDH, assess the needs of displaced people in downtown Port-au-Prince.

I have listened to children who wait for their fathers to come home, dreading that they may have been shot dead.

Psychological support

Working on the IOM team, we provide the psychological first-aid for people in distress, including one-to-one and group sessions. We also make sure they are in a safe place.

We offer relaxation sessions and recreational activities to help people unwind. Our approach is people-centred. We take into account their experience and introduce elements of Haitian culture, including proverbs and dances.

I have also organized counselling for older people. One woman came up to me after a session to thank me, saying that this was the first time she had been given the opportunity to put into words the pain and suffering she was experiencing.

Family life

I also have to think of my own family. I am forced to raise my children within the four walls of my home. I can’t even take them out for a walk, just to breathe fresh air.

When I have to leave the house for shopping or work, my five-year-old daughter looks me in the eyes and makes me promise that I will return home safe and sound. This makes me very sad.

My 10-year-old son told me one day, that if the president, who was murdered in his home, is not safe, then no-one is. And when he says that and tells me that he has heard that the bodies of murdered people are being left on the streets, I don’t really have an answer for him.

At home, we try and have a normal life. My children practice their musical instruments. Sometimes we will have a picnic on the veranda or have a movie or karaoke night.

With all my heart, I dream that Haiti will once again be a safe and stable country. I dream that displaced people can return to their homes. I dream that farmers can return to their fields.”

Experts and UN leaders exchanged views about the best ways forward, centred on this year’s theme, A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent. 

While the decade ends in 2024, much work remains to be done, General Assembly President Dennis Francis told the world body.

To galvanize action-based efforts, he announced a meeting focusing on the issue of reparatory justice, to be held on Monday on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, marked on 25 March.

People of African descent face many prejudices and injustices through legacies of slavery and colonialism, from police brutality to inequalities, he said, stressing that the world must take action to fully protect their human rights.

“Racism and racial discrimination are a flagrant violation of human rights,” he said. “It is morally wrong, has no place in our world and must therefore be roundly repudiated.”

UN chief slams ‘devastating’ legacies

The results of the legacy of enslavement and colonialism are “devastating”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement delivered by UN Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray.

Pointing to opportunities stolen, dignity denied, rights violated, lives taken and lives destroyed, he said “racism is an evil infecting countries and societies around the world.”

While racism is “rife”, it impacts communities differently.

Action must dismantle inequalities

“People of African descent face a unique history of systemic and institutionalized racism, and profound challenges today,” the UN chief said. “We must respond to that reality, learning from and building on the tireless advocacy of people of African descent.”

Action must change that, he said, from governments advancing policies and other measures to eliminate racism against people of African descent to tech firms urgently addressing racial bias in artificial intelligence.

Violent history

Chef de Cabinet Mr. Rattray, speaking on his own behalf, reminded the world body that the International Day is observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960.

Since then, the apartheid system in South Africa has been dismantled, and racist laws and practices have been abolished in many countries.

Today, a global framework for fighting racism is guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is now nearing universal ratification.

‘Commemoration is not enough’

However, Mr. Rattray said, racism is entrenched in social structures, policies and the realities of millions today, violating people’s dignity and rights while fuelling silent discrimination in health, housing, education and daily life.

“It is high time we shook ourselves free,” he said, calling for action.

“Commemoration is not enough. Eliminating discrimination requires action.”

That includes countries and businesses delivering reparatory justice, he said.

Also addressing the General Assembly were Ilze Brand Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and June Soomer, Chair-designate of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.

For full coverage of this and other official UN gatherings, visit UN Meetings Coverage, in English and French.

High Commissioner Volker Türk said, from the capital Ouagadougou, that his local office had been “engaging intensely with the authorities, civil society actors, human rights defenders, UN partners and others on many of the multifaceted human rights challenges” the country faces following a coup in January 2022 that saw Captain Ibrahim Traoré assume power.

Solidarity visit

“I came here to express my solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso at this difficult time and to engage on the human rights situation at the highest level,” said Mr. Türk.

He expressed gratitude to Captain Traoré, in his role as President of the transition, adding that they had held in-depth and wide-ranging discussions “on the grave security situation”, the humanitarian crisis as well as climate change and environmental degradation.

They also discussed shrinking civic space, “inequalities, the need to forge a new social contract and on ensuring inclusive participation of all Burkinabe in the transition process” back to civilian rule.

Describing the suffering of Burkinabe as “heartbreaking”, the head of OHCHR said there are 2.3 million people who are food insecure, more than two million people internally displaced and 800,000 children out of school.

In all, around 6.3 million out of a population of 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Falling off the agenda

“Yet, it has slipped off the international agenda and the resources made available are totally insufficient to respond to the scale of people’s needs,” said Mr. Türk.

Just last year, OHCHR documented 1,335 violations and abuses of human rights and humanitarian law, involving at least 3,800 civilian victims.

“Armed groups were responsible for the vast majority of violations against civilians in incidents involving more than 86 per cent of the victims. Protection of civilians is paramount. Such wanton violence must stop and the perpetrators held accountable.”

He said he understood the grave challenges faced by security forces and had been “encouraged by assurances that steps are being taken to ensure their conduct fully complies with international humanitarian and international human rights laws”.

The transition now needs to proceed “rooted in human rights”, he said, calling on the international community not to lose sight of the widespread needs in Burkina Faso.