UN Report, Modern Weapons for US Sparks Rise in Gang

A new United Nations report says increasingly sophisticated and high-caliber firearms and ammunition are being trafficked into Haiti, fuelling an ongoing surge of gang violence that has plagued citizens for months.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, ‘Haiti’s criminal markets: mapping trends in firearms and drug trafficking’ –warns that a recent increase in arms seizures alongside intelligence and law enforcement reporting, suggests trafficking of weapons is on the rise.

“By providing a rapid assessment of illicit firearms and drug trafficking, this UNODC study seeks to shed light on the trafficking flows enabling gangs in Haiti and fuelling further violence in a volatile and desperate situation to help inform responses and support to the people of Haiti,” said Angela Me, chief of the UNODC Research and Trend Analysis Branch.

Gang-related violence in Haiti has reached levels not seen in decades, the UN Secretary-General stated in his January report to the Security Council – compounding the severity of a cholera outbreak, increasing food insecurity, displacing thousands, and keeping children out of school.

At the same time, the UN said the incidence of homicides, kidnappings, and displacement is rising across Haiti, “which is suffering the worst human rights and humanitarian emergency in decades.”

Authorities reported 2,183 homicides and 1,359 kidnappings in 2022, almost double the number of cases for the previous year.

The UNODC assessment shows that Haiti remains a trans-shipment country for drugs –primarily cocaine – and cannabis entering via boat or plane at public private, and informal ports, as well as clandestine runways.

“Haiti’s porous borders – including 1,771 kilometres of coastline and a 392-kilometre land-border with the Dominican Republic –are severely challenging the capacities of the under-resourced and under-staffed national police, customs, border patrols and coast guard, who are themselves targeted by gangs,” the report says.

The assessment also provides an overview of international, regional, and national responses to date, including efforts to increase support for Haiti’s law enforcement and border management.

It also spotlights the need for comprehensive approaches encompassing investments in community policing, criminal justice reform, and anti-corruption investigations.

Last month, another UN report warned of a spike in gang attacks and “gross human rights abuses” in Haiti.

The report says “extreme violence and gross human rights abuses”, including mass incidents of murder, gang rape, and sniper attacks, have sharply increased in Cité Soleil, on the outskirts of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

“The findings of this report are horrifying,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a visit to Haiti. “It paints a picture of how people are being harassed and terrorized by criminal gangs for months without the State being able to stop it. It can only be described as a living nightmare.”

The report says that from July 8 to December 31, 2022, gang violence resulted in 263 murders in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cité Soleil, an impoverished, densely populated commune near Port-au-Prince.

The report documents at least 57 gang rapes of women and girls, as well as kidnappings and sexual exploitation.

On one day alone, July 8, gang members murdered 95 people, including six children, one of whom was age two, the report says.

The UN human rights chief called for a strengthening of the security forces and the judicial system.

“All perpetrators and those providing support and finance to the gangs must be prosecuted and tried according to rule of law, and all victims recognized and their rights to truth, justice, and reparations must be fulfilled”, he said.

Türk also called on the international community to “urgently consider the deployment of a time-bound specialised support force under conditions that conform with international human rights laws and norms, with a comprehensive and precise action plan.”

He said this must be accompanied by “rapid and sustainable re-establishment” of State institutions in gang-free zones.

In addition, Türk said “a profound reform” of the judicial and penitentiary system in Haiti is needed.

“The sanctions regime is an important first step,” he said. “It needs to be accompanied by bringing perpetrators to justice in Haiti.”

The UN said recent political and humanitarian crises in Haiti have left almost five million people – half the country’s population – facing acute hunger.