UN human rights official is alarmed by sprawling gang violence in Haiti

By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The United Nations expert on human rights in Haiti says he is alarmed by the rapid spread of gang violence and the bleak future awaiting children in the embattled country. William O’Neill spoke Tuesday at the end of a weeklong visit to Haiti. It is his second trip this year amid a spike in violence that has displaced more than 200,000 people. He warned that many children have become gang members and that more than 500,000 children have no access to education. He also noted that gang violence has spread to previously peaceful areas in Haiti’s central and northwest regions. Lack of security is so widespread, that some Haitians say they mostly stay indoors.