The armed gangs of Haiti have a very clear assessment of their power as movers and shakers of the country’s future.
A demonstrator waves a Haitian flag during protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince on March 1, 2024. The current crisis demands both time, and a new approach from the international community.
(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Emmanuel Sael, École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP) and Jean-François Savard, École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP)
Haiti will be able to emerge from the crisis it is in if it has a strong public administration and co-ordinated international aid from countries that respect human rights.
Men who were detained under the state of emergency are transported in a cargo truck in Soyapango, El Salvador in October 2022 after President Nayib Bukele began a crackdown on gangs that suspended constitutional rights and threw one in every 100 people in jail.
(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Mass arrests and the suspension of constitutional rights have been a feature of President Nayib Bukele’s tenure. A fresh mandate from voters will likely entrench his hardline approach.
The government’s promised crack-down on gangs may have to work around existing legislation – and human rights provisions.
Veronica Sarauz, widow of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, speaks during a press conference after his assassination on August 9.
AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa
More than being the social problem they are often made out to be, gangs are an indication of larger problems present in their societies.
Police officers take cover during an anti-gang operation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in April 2023, a day after a mob in the Haitian capital pulled 13 suspected gang members from police custody at a traffic stop, beat and burned them to death with gasoline-soaked tires.
(AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
The UN is calling for a specialized support force in Haiti, where urban gangs are terrorizing the population and people are starving. Why won’t Canada step up to help?
Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot Herbie Husker pumps up the crowd during a 2015 football game.
Michael Hickey/Getty Images
Hand gestures are notoriously prone to misinterpretation.
The Head of a Celestial Church of Christ parish stands in front of the church where worshippers were killed and valuables stolen by the Badoo gang in 2017.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Historically, most mass shootings in South Africa have been associated with three main things: gang conflicts, rivalries in the minibus taxi sector and factional or inter-group feuds.
In 2013 stories emerged of gangs stealing plasma TV screens to use to make street drugs. It’s a myth, but it tells us something about South Africa’s social anxieties.
History shows there is no magic bullet for solving gang crime. Only an evidence-based approach, coupled with mutually agreed targets and indicators, will start to achieve real change.
Young Thug performs onstage on March 17, 2022, in Austin, Texas.
Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW
Since rap music emerged in mainstream culture in the late 1980s, conservatives have derided its lyrics and imagery as violent. But hip-hop artists argue those images reflect urban realities.