The impact of armed violence on children in Haiti /

The goal of the Forum is to improve protection for the security and rights of children threatened by armed conflict by enhancing the work of individual NGOs and professionals in the field. [...] It was developed as a reference point for the CAC’s discussions with civil society organizations and the Canadian government on the situation of children and youth affected by armed violence in Haiti and the identification of the best strategies to provide relevant protection of their rights. [...] The mission mandate also includes the restoration and maintenance of the rule of law and institutional strengthening, public safety and public order in Haiti through the provision of operational support to the National Police and Coast Guard.9 The Canadian government’s contribution to MINUSTAH has been focused primarily on the electoral process and on building police capacity. [...] Lacking documentation and the illicit nature of the trafficking and migration makes it difficult to know the exact number Haitian children working in the Dominican Republic.28 The Haitian and DR governments have yet to acknowledge the scale of the problem, and the continuous movement of migrant and trafficked children in DR is a source of inter-governmental tension. [...] In 2006, the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Office of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, reported violations against children by the National Haitian Police, including the illegal detention of children and sexual abuse of female children while in custody, as well as the reports of execution and mutilation of street children during police operations.