Haiti

In his 2025 annual report (S/2025/247) on children and armed conflict (CAAC), the Secretary-General (SG) listed the Viv Ansanm coalition of armed gangs for the first time in the annexed list of perpetrators. The coalition was listed for recruitment and use, killing and maiming children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, and attacks on schools and hospitals. In 2024, the UN verified 2,269 grave violations against 1,373 children (699 girls, 618 boys), an increase of 490 percent from 2023. The UN verified significant increases across all six grave violations against children. Sexual violence was the most prominent violation, with 566 children affected (523 girls, 43 boys) including 406 cases of rape and 160 of gang rape. The UN also verified the killing and maiming of 351 children, the recruitment and use of 302 children, the abduction of 154 children, 728 incidents of the denial of humanitarian access, and 154 attacks on schools and hospitals. In July, the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) is up for renewal, per SCR 2743 (2024). The Security Council should:

• Express grave concern at the significant increase in verified grave violations against children in Haiti, and demand that all parties uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL);
• Call on all parties to take immediate and concrete steps to end and prevent rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, ensure survivors have access to comprehensive, gender-sensitive, and age-appropriate response systems and services, and strengthen preventive measures;
• Urge all armed groups to immediately release all children under 18 from their ranks and end and prevent all child recruitment and use; reiterate that children associated with armed forces and groups should be treated primarily as victims, and their reintegration should be prioritized; encourage the Government of Haiti to fully and consistently implement its 2024 handover protocol, including through sufficient child protection capacities;
• Ensure that the national police and the MSS prioritizes and mainstreams the protection of children during all operations, including through capacity-building; supports the release and recovery of children from armed groups and their immediate handover to civilian child protection actors; provides protection to and facilitates access for child protection actors to affected children; and shares with the UN Working Group on CAAC in Haiti information on grave violations against children, as appropriate;
• Urge donors to swiftly mobilize additional flexible funds to support the humanitarian response in Haiti, including resources for child protection and reintegration programs.

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – July 2025.