Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 4th March. UN Office on Drugs and Crime new UN assessment released on Thursday stated rising sophisticated and high-calibre firearms and ammunition are being trafficked into Haiti, fuelling ongoing gang violence in the community.
UNODC report Haiti’s criminal markets: mapping trends in firearms and drug trafficking, warned that a recent increase in arms seizures alongside intelligence and law enforcement reporting, suggests trafficking of weapons is on the rise.
Angela Me, Chief of the UNODC Research and Trend Analysis Branch said “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.”
UNSG Antonio Guterres in his report said that gang-related violence in Haiti has reached levels not seen in decades, compounded the severity of a cholera outbreak, increasing food insecurity, displacing thousands, and keeping children out of school.
The incidence of homicides, kidnappings, and displacement is rising across Haiti, and is suffering the worst human rights and humanitarian emergency in decades. Authorities reported 2,183 homicides and 1,359 kidnappings in 2022, double the number of cases for the previous year.
UNODC assessment has shown 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.
The agency said Haiti’s porous borders of 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 assessment provides an overview of international, regional, and national responses to date, including efforts to increase support to Haiti’s law enforcement and border management.
It spotlights the need for comprehensive approaches encompassing investments in community policing, criminal justice reform, and anti-corruption investigations.
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