ハイチ、女性や子どもの誘拐急増　ユニセフ

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】国連児童基金（ユニセフ）は７日、ギャングによる暴力が続くハイチで、今年上半期だけで女性や子ども約３００人が犯罪組織により誘拐されたと明らかにした。誘拐は「身体的・精神的にも深刻な傷」を残すとし、急激な増加に警鐘を鳴らした。（写真はハイチ・ポルトープランスのスラム街の病院で、診察を待つ女性や子ども〈資料写真〉）
　ユニセフによると、２０２３年上半期の誘拐件数は２２年全体の数にほぼ等しく、２１年に比べ３倍となっている。
　ユニセフのラテンアメリカ・カリブ海諸国地域事務所のギャリー・コニール所長は、「女性や子どもは商品でも交渉材料でもない。想像を絶するほどの暴力に決してさらされてはならない」と述べた。
　コニール氏は、ハイチ全体の状況は「破滅的」だとし、子ども約３００万人を含む人口の約半数近くが人道支援を必要としていると述べた。また、誘拐されたすべての人を速やかに解放し、無事に帰宅させるよう訴えた。
　ハイチでは首都ポルトープランスの８割を犯罪組織が支配しており、誘拐やレイプ、強盗や殺人が日常的に発生している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/08/09-17:12）

Some 300 women and minors were kidnapped in Haiti by criminal gangs in the first half of this year, UNICEF said Monday, warning of a disturbing rise in abductions that leave deep physical and psychological scars.
That six-month number is close to the total registered for the entirety of last year and is triple the 2021 tally -- an alarming spike in kidnappings, the United Nations children's agency said, adding that many women and children face unthinkable terror at the hands of the pervasive gangs.
The stories we are hearing from UNICEF colleagues and partners on the ground are shocking and unacceptable, Garry Conille, the agency's regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a statement.
Women and children are not commodities. They are not bargaining chips. And they must never be exposed to such unimaginable violence.
The surge in abductions, he added, threatens both the people of Haiti and those who have come to help.
Calling the overall situation in Haiti catastrophic, Conille said almost half the country's population, including nearly three million children, now require humanitarian assistance.
He called for the immediate release and safe return of all those who have been kidnapped.
UNICEF had warned earlier that the political and economic chaos roiling the poorest country in the Americas has fueled a surge in malnutrition, with one child in four now chronically undernourished, many gravely so.
Conille said local healthcare systems are teetering on the brink of collapse and schools are under attack, adding that the violent gangs made it difficult to deliver much-needed aid.
While praising the remarkable resilience of Haiti's children, women and families, Conille said they continued to face increasing, unthinkable terror.
He added: It must stop now.
Criminal gangs control some 80 percent of capital city Port-au-Prince, and kidnappings, rape, robbery and murder have become a looming daily threat.
Kenya recently announced it was willing to lead a multinational peace force to support Haiti's overwhelmed security forces and help the impoverished country cope with its compounding crises. The United States has promised its support.