UN expands arms embargo on Haiti to all types of arms and ammunition

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to expand the arms embargo in Haiti to all types of weapons and ammunition, expressing grave concern at the extremely high levels of gang violence and criminal activities in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

The resolution authorizes the 193 U.N. member nations to take “appropriate steps to prevent the illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel in Haiti.” U.N. experts have said increasingly sophisticated weapons that end up in the hands of gang members and criminals are being trafficked from the U.S., especially from Florida.

The resolution also extends a travel ban and asset freeze on individuals on the U.N. sanctions blacklist for a year. In late September, the council committee monitoring sanctions on Haiti added two people to the list, which included five gang leaders.

One was Elan Luckson, leader of the Gran Grif gang, which killed at least 115 people in the town of Pont-Sondé in the Artibonite region next to the capital in early October in one of the biggest massacres in Haiti in recent history. The other was Victor Prophane, a former member of the Haitian parliament accused of being involved in arms trafficking.

The power of gangs in Haiti has grown since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and they are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. They also have moved into surrounding areas.

The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.

The Security Council voted unanimously in early October to extend the mandate of the Kenya-led multinational force trying to help the Haitian National Police quell the gangs.

The leaders of Kenya and Haiti last week urged international partners to honor their commitment to the U.N.-backed force in Haiti, saying the mission needs more resources and that its budget will run out in March 2025.

Kenyan President William Ruto, who met with Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille in Nairobi a week ago, said Kenya would deploy 600 additional officers next month to join the 400 officers already in the country.

Nearly two dozen police officers and soldiers from Jamaica are also in Haiti, but the numbers fall significantly short of the 2,500 pledged by various countries, including Chad, Benin, Bangladesh and Barbados, for the mission.

The council resolution adopted Friday, co-sponsored by Ecuador and the United States, also encourages the Haitian government to reinforce the management of police weapons, ammunition as well as seized arms and “to strengthen border and customs control to curb illicit trafficking and diversion.”

It extends the panel of experts monitoring the implementation of sanctions for 13 months.

Ecuador’s political coordinator, Irina Barba Bustos, told the council after the vote that sanctions are part of the comprehensive response that is essential to address the crisis in Haiti and promote a political solution and a peaceful and prosperous future for its people.

The arms embargo previously applied to “small arms, light weapons, and ammunition.” The resolution expands it to include “arms and related materiel of all types.”

Bustos said the expansion of the arms embargo “bolsters our efforts to combat transnational organized crime, which uses all forms of violence against the civilian population, particularly against women.”