Haiti is going through an acute safety disaster as rival gangs combat for management of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas whereas terrorizing native communities via extortion, sexual violence, kidnap for ransom and homicide.
UN Member States agreed to impose an arms embargo on Haiti in 2022 – so what has gone mistaken? Listed below are 5 issues it’s worthwhile to know.
What number of weapons are in Haiti?
Haiti doesn’t manufacture firearms or ammunition, however in line with the newest figures launched by the UN human rights workplace there are an estimated between 270,000 and 500,000 unlawful weapons in circulation.
They don’t seem to be simply within the palms of the numerous murderous gangs that management many of the capital, they’re additionally frequent among the many rising variety of vigilante “justice” teams which try to guard individuals and property in troubled neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince.
The impression of so many weapons in a metropolitan space of round 2.6 million individuals is devastating. In 2024 alone, over 5,600 individuals have been killed as a consequence of gang-related exercise in line with the UN.
Throughout simply 5 days in early December 2024, not less than 207 have been killed by gangs controlling the Wharf Jérémie space of the capital.
1000’s of individuals have been killed in Haiti as a consequence of gang warfare.
Human rights violations and abuses documented by the UN have included mass killings, kidnappings for ransom, rape and sexual exploitation, destruction of property, and extreme restrictions on entry to important providers, significantly healthcare and training.
What firearms are in circulation?
It’s troublesome to precisely estimate the variety of unlawful firearms within the palms of gangs and vigilante teams, however there are indications that extra refined and lethal weapons are getting used.
The Haitian authorities are having restricted success in stopping the move of weapons. One cargo of arms procured in Miami in the USA and intercepted within the Dominican Republic in February 2025 included a heavy Barret M82 semi-automatic rifle, sniper rifles, an Uzi submachine gun and greater than 36,000 rounds of ammunition.
A person is handled for extreme burns in hospital after gangs attacked and prompted a fireplace within the fuel station the place he labored.
What does the embargo say?
The arms embargo in addition to journey bans and asset freezes on people was licensed by the UN Safety Council in October 2022.
Particularly focusing on gangs and people deemed accountable for threatening Haiti’s peace and safety, it calls on UN Member States to ban the availability, sale, or switch of arms and associated materials of every type, together with technical help, coaching, and monetary help associated to army actions.
It acknowledges that the state of affairs in Haiti poses a menace to regional peace.
How is the embargo being circumvented?
Nicely-established trafficking routes from the US, primarily from Miami – but additionally from New York by way of the Dominican Republic – proceed to be exploited, typically as a consequence of weak customs enforcement and corruption.
Some shipments are being intercepted by US authorities earlier than they attain Haiti.
Weapons seized by US regulation enforcement authorities which have been destined for Haiti are placed on present.
There’s additionally proof of weapons being shipped from Venezuela and different South American international locations.
Weapons are incessantly hid inside combined cargo or declared as humanitarian or industrial items to evade inspection.
There are additionally rising considerations that assault rifles initially registered to personal safety firms working in Haiti are ending up within the palms of gang members.
What must be accomplished to make sure the embargo is adhered to and the way is the UN serving to?
The UN Workplace on Medication and Crime (UNODC) which works on trafficking points has mentioned that making certain adherence requires a “complete and coordinated strategy on the nationwide, regional and worldwide ranges.”
Which means equipping Haitian customs, port and border management authorities with the technical capability to detect, interdict and examine illicit arms shipments. Presently, there’s not even one large-format scanner in all of Haiti which may effectively establish the contents of a transport container or truck.
Given that almost all weapons enter Haiti via maritime routes, enhancing maritime and port safety – together with inspections – is important in addition to working extra successfully with regulation enforcement authorities within the international locations of origin.
Offering extra sources alongside the porous border with the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, would assist to cease illicit trafficking via unofficial crossings.
The UN helps to coordinate Haiti and different international locations within the area to make sure compliance in addition to offering technical help to strengthen arms tracing, customs controls and monetary investigations.
“Combating corruption and illicit monetary flows additionally stays central to embargo compliance,” mentioned UNODC.
Provided that Haiti manufactures neither weapons nor ammunition, reducing off the availability of bullets alone would successfully finish the flexibility of gangs to combat one another and terrorise communities.
