Joint Statement by the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and UNICEF Haiti on the Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict

Country: Haiti Sources: UN Children’s Fund, UN Integrated Office in Haiti Port-au-Prince, 13 July 2026 – The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and UNICEF welcome the inclusion of three additional armed gangs operating in Haiti -Gran Grif, Kraze Barye and 400 Mawozo- in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict. Together with the Viv Ansanm coalition, listed in the previous reporting cycle, these listings reinforce international efforts to ensure accountability for grave violations committed against children. The report paints a deeply alarming picture of the situation for children in Haiti. In 2025, the United Nations verified 2, 088 grave violations affecting 1, 661 children, including the recruitment and use of 892 children, as well as killings and maiming, sexual violence, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access. The listing of parties responsible for grave violations is a critical accountability mechanism established by the Security Council. It also creates an opportunity for the development of action plans to end and prevent violations against children and support their release from armed gangs. BINUH and UNICEF therefore call upon all listed armed gangs to immediately end the recruitment and use of children, and all other grave violations, and stand ready to engage in efforts leading to their peaceful release. BINUH and UNICEF also commend the efforts of the Government of Haiti to strengthen national child protection mechanisms. Continued leadership through the Government-led Disarmament, Dismantlement, and Reintegration (DDR) National Commission is essential to ensuring that child protection remains central in all DDR efforts. Children associated with armed gangs must be recognized first and foremost as victims and promptly referred to child protection actors. The Secretary-General’s report also recognizes PREJEUNES, launched in 2025 by the Haitian authorities and the United Nations following the adoption of the Handover Protocol in 2024. The programme provides children released from armed gangs with specialized protection services, including psychosocial support, education, family tracing and reunification where appropriate, and community-based reintegration. In 2025, 573 children benefited from specialized protection services through this framework. Accountability, national leadership, and sustained investment in prevention and reintegration are essential to breaking cycles of violence and giving children and young people the opportunity to recover and rebuild their lives, and to contribute constructively to stabilization in Haiti. BINUH and UNICEF remain committed to supporting the Government of Haiti and partners to prevent grave violations against children, facilitate the safe release and reintegration of children associated with armed gangs, and ensure that every child can grow up protected from violence. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of BINUH Geeta Narayan, UNICEF Representative to Haiti For more information: Mathias Gillmann, Spokesperson, BINUH, gillmann@un. org; +509 44162003 Salwa Moussa, Chief of Communication, UNICEF Haiti, samoussa@unicef. org; + 50946971003

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