UN Security Council renews Haiti sanctions amid continued gang violence

UNITED NATIONS, CMC – 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.

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