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In
a statement following a visit to the Caribbean nation, William
O'Neill said some methods used to repatriate about 176,777
migrants last year do not comply with human rights standards and
violate bilateral migration pacts.
"I urge the authorities of the Dominican Republic to respect
their commitments in this regard," he said, singling out Haiti's
neighbor but calling on all countries in the region to end mass
deportations, particularly for unaccompanied minors.
O'Neill said he was particularly concerned by reports of organ
and sex trafficking of migrant women and children.
Inside Haiti, he added, "relentless violence and systematic
human rights violations" do not allow for the safe and dignified
return of migrants.
Incidents of sexual violence in the capital Port-au-Prince
doubled in May, he said, citing credible information received. A
U.N. report last year found gangs were weaponizing sexual
violence to control communities through fear.
In one incident last July, the report found that at least 52
women and girls were collectively raped in the capital.
O'Neill also warned of a crumbling judiciary and deadly
conditions in cramped jail cells, a nascent vigilante justice
movement making summary executions and lack of public services
leading to increasing recruitment of children into gangs.
He renewed so far unanswered calls for a "specialized
international force" to support Haiti's out-gunned police, which
Prime Minister Ariel Henry has requested since October, though
countries have been wary of supporting his unelected government.
He also deemed the U.N. sanctions regime "an important step"
alongside prosecutions. Jimmy Cherizier, a former policeman and
leader of the G9 gangs alliance who was sanctioned in October,
remains the only Haitian sanctioned under the regime.
"It is urgent to take action," O'Neill said. "The survival of an
entire nation is at stake."
(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland; Editing by Stephen
Coates)
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