Haiti’s children are increasingly caught in the crossfire of gang violence, forced to carry weapons, spy on police and rival gangs and run errands for gunmen, according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International.
Amnesty International called on the Haitian government to better support children, restore education, provide mental health services, and resume court proceedings against children suspected of ties to gangs who are being held without charge.
If children refuse to follow a gang’s orders, they or their family would be killed, according to the report, which relied on a total of 112 interviews and research done from May to October last year.
One of 51 children interviewed by the human rights group said he was constantly pressured by a gang to fight alongside it.
Haiti’s National Police, which is severely underfunded and understaffed, is working alongside a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to help quell gang violence.
