United Nations Security Council chamber at UN world headquarters in New York,
By Gary Raynaldo -DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – The UN Security Council voted unanimously Friday to adopt a resolution establishing sanctions on Haiti, targeting armed gangs to end deadly violence in the Caribbean nation. The draft text, authored by Mexico and the US, the co-penholders on Haiti, establishes the Security Council’s first sanctions regime since that on Mali, created through resolution 2374 of 5 September 2017. It includes targeted assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo measures. The resolution specifically sanctions notorious gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, an ex-police officer who is reportedly the most powerful gang boss in the country, known by his alias “Barbeque”. The Security Council resolution notes that Cherizier has “engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Haiti” and has “planned, directed, or committed acts that constitute serious human rights abuses”. Today’s vote comes against the backdrop of a major crisis in Haiti, where endemic gang violence and widespread popular unrest have aggravated an already dire humanitarian situation. Haiti has descended into a nightmare of violence with a deadly outbreak of cholera as gangsters led by wreak havoc in the Caribbean nation. A group of violent gangs has blocked the Carribean nation’s main fuel terminal, Varreux since September, causing shortages of basic supplies like water and food. Steep hikes in fuel prices have sparked protests across Haiti. Hundreds of residents have been killed and thousands of others forced by their homes by the violence. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for an international force to end the hellish situation in Haiti. The US-Mexico are working on a resolution which will authorize a “non-UN international security assistance mission” to address security issues to facilitate humanitarian aid.
Council “Sending Clear Message to Bad actors holding Haiti hostage: U.S. Ambassador
(UN Photo/Manuel Elías) Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the United States addresses the UN Security Council meeting on Haiti Oct. 21, 2022.
Speaking in the Council chamber following the vote, US Ambassador and co-pen holder on Haiti, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the unanimous vote represented “an important step to help the Haitian people”, and was “truly reflective of Council consensus.” She said the Council was “sending a clear message to the bad actors, that are holding Haiti hostage. The international community will not stand idly by, while you wreak havoc on the Haitian people.” The U.S. ambassador had laid out the sanctions resolution earlier in the week:
“The resolution would impose financial sanctions on criminal actors that are inflicting so much suffering on the Haitian people. It is time to hold them accountable for their actions. It would target those responsible for gang violence, for trafficking arms, for attacking UN personnel, for kidnapping innocent citizens, and for human rights abuses and sexual and gender-based violence. And it would go after individuals blocking Haiti’s ports and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Haitian people. The UN sanctions regime aims to stop these criminal actors from having access to reputable financial institutions. And it would work to freeze their assets and prohibit their international travel.”
–U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
The designation criteria outlined in the draft resolution in blue include:
- Engaging in or supporting criminal activities and violence involving armed groups and criminal networks, including recruitment of children, kidnappings, trafficking in persons, homicides and sexual and gender-based violence;
- Supporting illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel, or illicit financial flows related thereto;
- Obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to and inside Haiti; and
- Attacking personnel or premises of UN missions and operations or providing support for such attacks.
