The recruitment of child soldiers by gangs has risen nearly 70 percent in the past years in Haiti, according to a report released by the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Sunday.

Within the Haitian capital, Port-Au-Prince, it is estimated that 1.2 million children are subject to the threat of armed violence, and 25 percent of all displaced persons in the country live in dire conditions that potentially subject them to armed violence. “Children in Haiti are trapped in a vicious cycle—recruited into the very armed groups that are fueling their desperation, and the numbers are growing,” stated UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in the report. 

Haiti’s gang war has been exacerbated in recent years. Apart from the Haitian prime minister currently being stranded in Kenya following threats from the leaders of one of the dominant gangs, the gangs control over 85 percent of the capital. In addition, the two most prominent Haitian gangs, the G9 and G-Pep Alliance, often engage in armed conflict with one another.

In response to the growing violence, the UN has deployed peacekeepers to aid local law enforcement. UNICEF has also helped in training local law enforcement, along with providing support workers capable of providing psychosocial support to victims of physical and sexual violence during the ongoing conflict.

The recruitment of child soldiers is a war crime under Article 50 of the Geneva Convention and Article 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute. Children who are recruited by armed groups, under the UN Operational Guidance for the release and reintegration of children associated with armed groups, are to be left with state child protection services that are to ensure they are cared for and treated as human rights victims, not armed combatants.

In October 2023, the UN Security Council authorized a one-year deployment to quell gang violence in Haiti. Unfortunately, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued another warning in September for the escalating gang violence in Haiti, urging the international community to take immediate action to alleviate the country’s food security emergency.