The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday renewed sanctions on Haiti, including an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze, as gangs continue to fuel a severe security crisis in the French-speaking Caribbean country.
The UN said armed gangs control large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and are ‘pushing into rural areas, terrorising communities, killing people, committing rape and other sexual assaults, kidnapping for ransom and extorting individuals and businesses.’
About 1.5 million people, roughly 12 per cent of the population, have been forced from their homes, according to the UN.
Although Haiti does not manufacture guns or ammunition, ‘the gangs never seem to run out,’ the UN said.
Wednesday’s Security Council action renewed the sanctions measures intended to target people and entities considered responsible for, or involved in, activities threatening Haiti’s peace, security and stability. The Council also extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts on Haiti by 13 months.
Established by the Security Council in 2022, the Haiti sanctions regime comprises an arms embargo, a travel ban and an asset freeze.
The embargo targets weapons and ammunition reaching armed groups, while the travel ban and asset freeze apply to individuals and entities designated under the sanctions regime.
Nine individuals and two entities are currently subject to the sanctions, according to the UN.
The human cost of gang violence remains severe. More than 3,000 people were killed and over 1,500 injured between October last year and April this year, according to figures cited by the UN.
A partner organisation reported treating more than 2,400 survivors of sexual violence in Port-au-Prince between January and May, most of them women and girls. Sixteen per cent were minors.
‘Cases involving children as young as eight were also reported,’ the UN said. ‘Children are also being recruited by gangs.’
Haitian authorities have recently intercepted several illicit shipments at ports, while US authorities have seized firearms and ammunition destined for Haiti and pursued trafficking investigations.
Figures released by the UN human rights office last year estimated that between 270,000 and 500,000 illegal weapons were in circulation in Haiti.
The arms embargo is violated ‘on a regular basis’, according to the Panel of Experts on Haiti, an independent body established by the Security Council to gather evidence and analyse information related to sanctions violations.
The experts have travelled to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien in Haiti, Santo Domingo in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, and Miami in the United States to meet government officials, police, financial institutions, civil society representatives and people affected by gang violence.
The panel found that some ammunition used by gangs comes from national stockpiles. Haitian police ‘do not centrally track what they seize’, the UN said.
‘So, some weapons are unaccounted for or diverted by corrupt officers,’ the UN said.
The asset freeze has been less effective, according to the panel. Only two sanctioned individuals’ accounts were reported frozen, involving small sums, because banks acted slowly and the targets moved money or concealed it under third parties’ names.
The panel found no attempts to circumvent the travel ban but warned that ‘fraudulent passports could help sanctioned people travel under false names.’
The panel warned that ‘targeting gang leaders without addressing the networks that sustain them will inevitably fall short.’
It also pointed to political, economic and security figures who support gangs, adding that many gang leaders not currently on the sanctions list meet the criteria for designation.
‘Gangs have continued their deadly expansion despite the sanctions already in place, a clear indication that enforcement matters,’ the UN said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, representatives of several Security Council members reiterated the need to disrupt gang financing, close loopholes and hold networks supporting armed groups accountable.
Haiti welcomed the renewal but warned that sanctions alone cannot restore security, according to the UN.
The UN said the key test would be whether the sanctions committee’s work, alongside efforts by the Haitian Government and countries in the region, resulted in safer neighbourhoods, fewer weapons in criminal hands and greater freedom for Haitians to travel, work and access essential services.
Following the adoption of the Security Council resolution, Jennifer Locetta, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United States Mission to the UN, thanked Panama, the resolution’s co-penholder, for its ‘constructive leadership’.
‘We are deeply grateful for your dedication to peace and security in Haiti, as we work together towards a more secure and prosperous Western Hemisphere,’ she said. ‘We welcome the extension of the mandate of the Haiti Panel of Experts, and the renewal of the travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo measures for another year.
‘As Haiti continues the fight to regain control of its country, the United States wishes to make a clarifying point to all member states as it relates to the territorial arms embargo: the arms embargo does not apply to the sale, supply, or transfer of arms and related materiel, or the provision of related assistance and training, to the Government of Haiti, intended solely to further objectives of peace and stability,’ she added.
‘Today’s vote is yet another unwavering signal that the international community stands with the people of Haiti,’ Locetta continued, noting that, just a few weeks ago, the Security Council reauthorised ‘a novel mission that is uniquely designed to address immediate security threats in Haiti and to promote peace and stability in the country.’
‘In that regard, the United States encourages the international community to support Haiti’s National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement, and Reintegration,’ she said, describing the initiative as ‘key to tackling the gangs that are destabilising the country, and offer a pathway towards peace.’
Locetta also called on the Haitian Government to adopt a decree regulating the exploitation and trade of baby eels, also known as elvers, as provided for in the resolution.
‘This illicit exploitation of this wildlife is fueling armed groups and criminal networks in the country and depriving the Haitian people of their resources,’ she said.
Locetta said the United States would continue to consider designations through the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies ‘to ensure UN sanctions lists are fit for purpose.
‘These sanctions are key components of a broader international effort to promote peace and stability in Haiti, and in the region,’ she said.