UN AGENCY SAYS WORSENING SECURITY CRISIS HAS GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS
NASSAU, Bahamas — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is warning in a new report that Haiti’s worsening national security crisis has the potential to “generate contagion with global implications”, The Nassau Guardian reported on Monday, March 6, 2023, in an article written by Executive Editor Candia Dames.
“If the country’s security and development institutions disintegrate, a significant international response will be required, including large-scale relief assistance and a stabilization or peace support operation,” said the report, titled “Haiti’s criminal markets: Mapping trends in firearms and drug trafficking”.
“At a minimum, years of recovery and development investment are unravelling.
“Organized violence is being deployed as a well-defined strategy on the part of gangs and their backers to subdue populations and expand territorial control.”
According to Haiti’s UN special representative, at least five million Haitians are facing acute hunger and education and health services, already faltering, are on the verge of collapse.
The report adds that against a rapidly deteriorating security situation, the UN Security Council has demanded an immediate cessation of violence and urged all political actors to engage in meaningful negotiations and hold free and fair elections.
It notes, too, that the Haitian government has signaled its inability to stabilize the country on its own, as evidenced by the request for the deployment of an international specialized security force.
The Security Council has said it would “welcome” the force and the UN secretary-general has likewise urged support for a multinational rapid reaction force that would “support the HNP (Haitian National Police)”, primarily in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
But there is no commitment to such a force.
At a recent CARICOM heads of government meeting in Nassau, CARICOM leaders said they will do all they can to support the Haitian National Police, a commitment also made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who committed as well to deploying Royal Canadian Navy vessels to Haiti in the face of political and social unrest.
When asked about discussions with American representatives at that CARICOM meeting last month, Prime Minister Philip Davis said CARICOM “believes it’s time for action and not just talk”.
UNODC notes in its newly released report that a fundamental priority in Haiti is the restoration of security and stability, including in relation to the control of firearms availability and transshipment of drugs.
“The Security Council has repeatedly expressed concerns about the illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related material that are undermining human rights and the provision of assistance,” the report says.
“It has also underlined the need to prohibit the transfer of weapons to non-state actors and urged member states to provide and exchange timely and up-to-date information on illicit trafficking supply chains.
“Moreover, the Security Council has stressed the need to disrupt the links between political and economic actors and gangs, as well as ensure more access of the HNP to areas controlled by armed groups.”
It has done so through the establishment of a sanction regime which includes travel bans, freezes on funds and financial assets and targeted arms embargoes for key individuals and entities associated with criminal activities, including those benefiting from the proceeds of illicit production and trafficking in drugs.
Regional measures to control firearms and drug trafficking must accompany in-country support, UNODC says, adding that regional organizations have yet to craft a coherent strategy with Haiti.
The report adds that ultimately, regional cooperation must extend beyond a narrow focus on interdicting firearms and confiscating drugs.
“Indeed, the CARICOM region must also engage with a range of issues that shape Haiti’s security challenges, including criminal networks and migration and human trafficking,” it says.
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/warning-on-haiti/
