UN Human Rights Chief Says Use Of Drones By Haiti May Break The Law

The head of UN human rights at the UN Human Rights Council meeting. (Twitter/@volker_turk)

JAKARTA - UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Thursday the use of lethal force by Haiti against gangs was disproportionate and was likely to violate the law.

Turkey said Haiti's actions, including drone attacks, caused more than half of deaths and injuries this year.

"I am concerned that state law enforcers have used unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force in their operations against these gangs," the UN Human Rights Council said in Geneva, Switzerland.

Turk further said police units had executed 174 people on suspicion of gang affiliation this year, while government drone attacks on suspected gang members in the capital Port-au-Prince have killed at least 559 people to date, including 11 children.

"Most of these drone attacks are likely to violate the law according to international human rights law," Turk explained.

In a recent attack on the birthday party of a suspected gang leader, in which he was distributing gifts to local children, at least eight children were killed, according to local media reports.

Meanwhile, Haiti's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ann-Kathryne Lassègue, did not directly discuss drone attacks in his speech before the Council.

"We have tried to stem the violence," he said.

"Nothing is perfect, but no one is silent. Our government is doing what it can with everything it has," he said.

Armed groups for years have expanded their influence to nearly the entire Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and recently to other regions of the country in a conflict that has forced about 1.3 million people to flee their homes, and sparked high-level hunger.

The UN Security Council in 2023 agreed to mandate Kenyan-led security forces as reinforcements to the Haitian police. However, the lack of contribution from member states resulted in the deployment of troops only a small part of what was expected.

Haiti's transitional government in March switched to Vectus Global, a private security company led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, to deploy unmanned aircraft containing explosives against suspected gang members.

Vectus Global did not immediately respond to requests for comment, neither did the Haitian police nor the transitional government.

This week, the Security Council voted to expand the scope of troop potential, although it still relies on substantial voluntary contributions that have yet to materialize.