Gang violence is only one very tangible manifestation of insecurity and the lack of peace, but the lives of Haitians are being impacted in countless other ways. In Cite Soleil, roughly 95,000 school children in over 300 schools had their education disrupted by violence.
The PBF has played a particularly important role in Haiti following the closure of the UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSTAH, in 2017. The PBF is one of the few resources available to the United Nations to scale up efforts in areas previously covered by the mission or areas requiring renewed attention.
The Peacebuilding Fund is supporting activities to prevent election-related and political violence especially against women
The assassination of the Haitian president in July 2021 and a destructive earthquake in the south of the country a month later compounded the insecurity caused by the growing presence and influence of gangs.Gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is terrorizing adults and children alike.
Bridging a gap
The fund has focused on a number of key areas including community violence reduction with an emphasis on supporting and promoting participation at the community level with a focus on the youth. It has also promoted social cohesion and mental health, especially for women and girls, and it is supporting activities to prevent election-related and political violence, again with a special emphasis on protecting and empowering women.
Instability and insecurity, propelled by stark inequalities, have been long-standing problems in Haiti and are the key reasons why the Government called for the support of the PBF.
Globally, the Peacebuilding Fund began work in 2006 in countries or situations at risk or affected by violent conflict. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres described it as “a critical vehicle to support resilience and prevention.”
Ultimately, the PBF is a people-centered funding mechanism, that has resulted in notable successes. Without stability, security and justice, economic progress is near impossible. This is unfortunately becoming increasingly clear with the continued slow-down of the Haitian economy whose effects are most felt by the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals and communities.
Supporting Haiti’s most vulnerable
Strengthening the justice system including providing legal aid to vulnerable populations while reinforcing coordination between judicial actors and the penal system is also a PBF priority.
As a 15-year-old, Renel* was held in detention without trial for three years in a prison in Les Cayes after being wrongfully accused by a shopkeeper of stealing two ducks. His case drew the attention of the United Nations and was referred to a legal aid office, established by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN’s political mission in Haiti, BINUH and the Haitian Ministry of Justice and Public Security and funded by PBF.
Edwin* a youth leader living in Cite Soleil and who is part of a group of young people supported by the PBF, said that he witnessed heavy fighting in the streets adding that “I go to bed and wake up to the sound of gunfire which is very stressful.” The group brings youth together from neighbourhoods where rival gangs are active. “We want our voices to be heard outside Cité Soleil, because if no-one hears us nothing will change,” he said.
In the commune of Cite Soleil, one of the capital’s poorest neighbourhoods, 99 people were killed and 133 injured during one particularly violent week of clashes in July between gangs vying for control of territory. Hundreds of houses were destroyed and thousands of people fled to safer localities, many of whom were supported by the United Nations.
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