The United States called on Wednesday for tougher sanctions against gangs in Haiti, with the UN painting a still grim picture despite the arrival of the first Kenyan contingent of a multinational security force.
At a UN Security Council session, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the international community must demand that gangs “be held accountable for past atrocities”.
“This Council must consider sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for or complicit in actions that threaten peace and security in Haiti,” she said.
Kenya has sent its first contingent of police officers to Haiti as part of a multinational security force. The force is supposed to support the Haitian police in the fight against armed gangs that are terrorizing the population.
The United States is a major source of illicit weapons in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where gangs have taken control of vast swathes of territory in recent years.
According to Mme Thomas-Greenfield, President Joe Biden’s administration is addressing this problem by implementing a system to track gun trafficking and background checks in the United States.
“We call on Member States to join us and take steps to strengthen enforcement mechanisms,” she said.
China, which supports the UN efforts but is uneasy about Haiti’s recognition of Taiwan, has taken the United States to task.
China calls for effective implementation of the Security Council’s arms embargo on Haiti. We urge the United States to strengthen its control over arms and ammunition.
Fu Cong, Chinese Ambassador
Also addressing the Council, the UN special envoy for Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, warned of indiscriminate gang violence that extends beyond the capital Port-au-Prince.
Some 578,000 people are internally displaced, a 60 percent increase since March, and only 20 percent of health facilities are functioning normally, she said.
“Human rights violations and abuses have persisted at alarming levels,” the diplomat added.
The new Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille, visiting Washington, promised action and “transparency” to the population, exasperated by decades of instability, in an interview with AFP on Tuesday, while deeming the situation “extremely complex.”