The UN calls for stricter controls on weapons to Haiti as the death toll rises – Wereldnieuws.nl

In Haiti, an average of nearly 13 people have been killed every day this year, according to data from a United Nations report on Friday that, among other things, urged tighter controls on arms trade as a turf war fuels a worsening humanitarian crisis.

At least 3,451 people have been killed since January, according to a report by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was published days before the U.N. mandate for a security force to support Haitian police was set to expire.

“No more lives should be lost to this senseless crime,” Commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement.

Haiti initially requested the mission in 2022 and it was approved a year ago, but only a fraction of the troops promised by a handful of countries have been deployed and funding remains scarce.

Haiti has asked the UN to consider turning it into a formal peacekeeping mission to secure stable funds and capacity.

Turk said it was clear that the mission “needs adequate and sufficient equipment and personnel to effectively and sustainably combat the criminal gangs, and prevent them from spreading further and wreaking havoc on people’s lives.”

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The mission’s first deployment in June prompted gangs to recruit large numbers of children into their ranks, the report said.

In addition, nearly 100 children have been killed so far this year – some in gang attacks and others in police operations, the report said.

Violence has spread beyond the capital, fueled by arms trafficking, mainly from the United States, but also from the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, which continues despite an international arms embargo.

According to the report, poorly controlled airspace, coastlines and porous borders allowed gangs to obtain high-value weapons, drones, boats and “a seemingly endless supply of bullets.”

The number of people displaced by the violence has almost doubled in the past six months to more than 700,000, while around 1.6 million people are estimated to be facing food insecurity, the worst level before the famine.