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The intervention—cosigned by the Dominicans, Dominican Leadership Conference, and Congregation of St Joseph and Passionists International—was read before the UN Human Rights Council.
“Hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of victims of gunshot wounds, and over 360,000 have become internally displaced,” reads the intervention. “Half of these are children.”
The intervention notes that access to guns is reportedly far greater than access to food, clean water, and medicine. “Livelihoods are disrupted, children cannot go to school, some pastors have been kidnapped during church services, and churches are now closed,” the text reads. “The gangs have restricted everyone’s movements and control the ports and the roads.”
Many public offices and houses have been destroyed, the intervention further notes.
“We urge the Human Rights Council to call for an international presence in Haiti to bring safety to the people in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian standards,” reads the text. “We call upon the international community to take all possible measures to support the formation and implementation of a Haitian transitional council.”
The intervention concludes: “All sectors of society, including churches, must be heard and their messages incorporated into an inclusive Haitian-led peace process which is critically needed to bring to an end the cycle of violence and to build a democratic society based on the respect for human rights.”
Watch here the session during which Max Weber, is delivering the WCC statement at the United Nations, Geneva
