In less than 11 days, 32 expedited flights reached Haiti´s capital, and 18 other to the northern city of Cap Haitien, totalling 4,452, the IOM detailed.

These trips are expected to continue, despite the fact that several international organizations such as the United Nations encouraged Washington to stop deportations and to ensure protection for migrants.

On Thursday, the IOM, together with the UN Refugee Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Office for Human Rights, called on States to refrain from expelling Haitians without proper assessment of their individual needs.

These agencies recalled the difficult situation Haiti is passing through, with an escalation of violence and insecurity that prompted at least 19,000 Haitians to leave neighborhoods such as Martissant, Cité Soliel or Bas de Delmas, due to clashes among armed gangs.

The agencies deplored that more than 20% of children were victims of sexual violence, while nearly 24% of the population, 12.9% of them minors, live below the extreme poverty line.

Most of deported Haitians left the country in recent years, to try a better life in nations such as Brazil, Chile and Colombia, however, the Covid-19 pandemic limited their opportunities.

pgh/Pll/msm / ane