The United States called Wednesday for international sanctions on Haitians behind the country’s descent into chaos as the United Nations warned of a still bleak picture despite the arrival of Kenyan police.
At a UN Security Council session, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the world must “promote accountability for past atrocities” even as hopes rise with the long-awaited start of the UN-blessed, Kenyan-led mission.
“This Council must consider sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for or complicit in actions that threaten the peace and security in Haiti,” she said.
The United States has been a major source of illicit weapons into the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, where in recent years armed gangs have taken over vast swathes of territory.
Thomas-Greenfield said that President Joe Biden’s administration was addressing the issue, including through a tracking system on gun trafficking and background checks in the United States.
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“We urge fellow member-states to join us and take steps to strengthen enforcement mechanisms,” she said.
China — which has backed UN efforts but has been uneasy due to Haiti’s recognition of Taiwan, which is claimed by Beijing — said the United States was to blame for the flow of weapons.
“China calls for effective implementation of the Council’s arms embargo on Haiti. We urge the United States to tighten its control of weapons and ammunition,” Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong said.
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Briefing the Security Council, Maria Isabel Salvador, the special representative of the secretary-general for Haiti, warned that indiscriminate gang violence has kept spreading beyond the capital Port-au-Prince.
Some 578,000 people are internally displaced — a 60 percent increase since just March — and only 20 percent of health facilities are operating normally, she said.
“Human rights violations and abuses have persisted at alarmingly high levels,” she said.
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But she said that the designation of a new director general of the national police “brings new hope” and saluted the formation of a transitional government led by Prime Minister Garry Conille.
Conille, who had an extensive career in the United Nations, told AFP on a visit to Washington on Tuesday that a second contingent of the Kenyan-led force would arrive in Haiti in the coming weeks.
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