Haiti urged countries at the United Nations Security Council on Oct. 19 to enforce an arms embargo, saying overseas weapons supplies keep gangs equipped despite an expanding international security mission.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the United Nations special representative for Haiti, said the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) recorded more than 1,000 killings and more than 100 kidnapping victims from July through September. Nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced, including more than 740,000 children, he said.
Haiti’s representative said the weapons and ammunition used by gangs were made abroad and entered the country through international criminal networks. A U.N. Panel of Experts report separately identified ammunition diverted from stockpiles inside Haiti as another source for gangs.
The Security Council renewed the arms embargo for one year under Resolution 2831 on Oct. 14. The resolution urges member states to curb illicit trafficking, including by strengthening border controls.
Haiti’s representative said security operations could not resolve the crisis while gangs continued to obtain arms. He pointed to the reconstituted National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement and Reintegration as part of Haiti’s response.
The Gang Suppression Force has more than 2,000 personnel from six contributing countries, but mission leadership said it lacked armored vehicles, tactical communications equipment and aerial reconnaissance capacity needed for its operations. The appeal followed an ambush in which four Salvadoran air force members went missing. El Salvador’s armed forces said fighting hindered efforts to reach them.
Ruiz Massieu said lasting security would also require a sustained state presence in areas recovered from gangs. Resolution 2831 calls for the Panel of Experts’ next interim report by March 28, 2027.
