UN says most gangs in Haiti are involved in child trafficking

Most of the 26 armed gangs operating in Haiti are involved in child trafficking, according to UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado, who presented the findings at a press conference on Friday.

The UN office released a report detailing the multiple forms of exploitation suffered by children recruited or trafficked by gangs. While some minors are assigned basic tasks, others are used to monitor security forces, collect extortion payments, damage property, and carry out kidnappings, targeted killings, or acts of sexual violence.

Although the UN was unable to provide precise figures on the number of affected children, it noted that around 500,000 minors live in areas under gang influence, based on UN data from 2024. Hurtado also warned that children involved with gangs are frequently treated as criminals rather than victims by law enforcement, citing cases in which minors have been summarily executed by police or killed by so-called self-defense groups.

She explained that poverty, institutional weakness, social exclusion, and widespread armed violence significantly increase the risk of child trafficking. Children are often drawn in by promises of power, status, or protection, or are coerced through violence, threats, food, or drugs. The risk is particularly high for children from extremely poor and marginalized families, as well as those living on the streets or in displacement camps.

To address the crisis, the UN Human Rights Office called for stronger protection of schools, a shift toward rehabilitation rather than punishment for affected children, and greater accountability for those responsible for child trafficking.