This subcommittee meeting on human rights in the Caribbean region heard from two panels of witnesses, the first on Haiti and the second on Cuba.
Sandra Pellegrini of ACLED testified that violence in Haiti has increased by 162% since 2021, with over 1,700 violent incidents and 4,700 fatalities recorded in 2025 alone. She stated that gangs have gained autonomy from political and economic elites by diversifying revenue through kidnappings, extortion, and control of strategic infrastructure, and have expanded beyond Port-au-Prince into other regions.
Morgan Wienberg of Little Footprints Big Steps described the humanitarian crisis, noting over one million displaced people, five million facing acute hunger, and a dramatic increase in child trafficking and forced recruitment of children into armed gangs. She recommended that Canada support decentralization of services and economic opportunities, prioritize child protection funding, and provide supports for the reintegration of child soldiers and prevention through family reinforcement.
Geeta Narayan of UNICEF reported that 1.47 million people are internally displaced, including over 751,000 children, and that child recruitment by armed groups increased by 200% in 2025 alone. She asked the committee to keep child protection central to security discussions, sustain flexible humanitarian funding, and support Haitian-led solutions, noting that Canada's $32 million in support over five years has made a difference but that funding cuts are reducing their ability to respond.
Tiziano Breda of ACLED noted that while anti-gang operations have produced limited tactical gains, gangs are adapting and expanding into other regions, and that recent drone strikes have killed over 900 people including civilians and children, raising concerns about extrajudicial killings. He disagreed with the idea that negotiations could resolve the conflict, stating that unlike ideological groups, Haiti's gangs are purely criminal in nature.
Samantha Hislop of the Canadian Network on Cuba argued that the humanitarian crisis in Cuba is directly and solely caused by the U.S. blockade, and criticized Canada for lagging behind Mexico in sending humanitarian aid. She urged Canada to invoke its Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act and to restore direct flights and bilateral relations, stating that aid should go through the Cuban government and that conditions on aid amount to complicity with U.S. sanctions.
Alejandro Gonzalez of the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights documented 3,179 politically motivated acts of repression in 2025, 875 violations of religious freedom, and an "unprecedented social catastrophe" with 89% of families living in extreme poverty. He urged Parliament to recognize political prisoners in Cuba and demand their release, and called for an international reparations fund for victims of the Cuban regime, recommending that aid be distributed through independent civil society rather than the government.
Javier Larrondo of Prisoners Defenders reported 1,281 political prisoners, including 34 minors, and stated that 449 suffer serious medical conditions due to torture and denial of care. He recommended that humanitarian aid go through the Catholic Church and Caritas rather than the government, and called for Canada to coordinate with the United States to apply strong public pressure on the regime to secure change.
The committee also heard brief procedural interventions regarding interpretation quality, and members posed questions that elicited the testimony summarized above. No motions or votes were taken during this meeting.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.