In a matter of months, Haiti has become unrecognizable to the children who live there.
Armed groups turned Port-au-Prince's streets into a battlefield, trapping over 2.7 million people in areas under their control.
Kids are being displaced, harmed and killed at alarming rates. Many have even been forcibly recruited by armed groups and used in violent clashes.
All the while, schools are closing and poverty is skyrocketing across Haiti – leaving more than 1 in 2 children to suffer acute food insecurity and hunger at crisis levels.
Please, tell Congress: Children in Haiti need our support and protection.
To whom it may concern:
Kids in Haiti are facing extreme danger. Up to half of all armed group members are estimated to be children, and aid organizations like Save the Children have received alarming reports of armed groups using children in violent confrontations with security actors.
Any efforts to stem this devastating tide of violence must ensure that no child is caught in the crossfire. I urge you to demand that the Biden-Harris Administration require robust training on child protection for all security actors in Haiti – whether national police or international protection missions.
Given bipartisan Congressional support for ensuring children in Haiti are protected from the ongoing violence and able to grow up safe and healthy, we must call on the White House to ensure all protection actors have children's rights and safety top of mind.
Whether national or international, protection forces must have child protection expertise as well as comprehensive child safeguarding training. These forces must also be trained on the prevention of gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse.
The situation in Haiti is desperate, and children there need our urgent support to protect their lives and futures. Thank you for being a voice for peace.
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Sincerely,
[Your name here]
