Haiti: Concern for Children Amid Foreign Troop Presence
A Father with his child amid the gang violence in Haiti, June 2024 Photo: @ghn_news
June 28, 2024 Hour: 2:19 pm
The NGOs called for urgent measures to protect children, highlighting the risks they face when caught in the middle of this escalating terror.
On Friday, children are a concern in Haiti today as a multinational military force is phased in to help the national police pacify the Caribbean country.
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International humanitarian organizations Save the Children, Plan International and World Vision, expressed deep concern about the growing threat of violence against children in the West Indian nation.
The NGOs called for urgent measures to protect children, highlighting the risks they face when caught in the middle of this escalating terror.
They warn of the increased risk of loss of life among children, who make up about half of the country’s armed groups.
“There are alarming reports of armed bandits using children and adolescents as human shields during clashes with the Haitian National Police,” the NGO document quoted by Le National newspaper underlines.
In their view, the deployed forces should receive specific training on child protection, prevention of exploitation, sexual abuse and gender-based violence.
They demanded that foreign troops must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and respect human rights.
Many were forced to join armed groups because of hunger and desperation, are victims and should be treated as children and not as militiamen, the international bodies stressed.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: The Independent- The Star
