The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to extend the arms embargo on Haiti for another year, while adding two more individuals to its sanctions list as the country continues to grapple with rampant gang violence and political instability.
The sanctions regime, first imposed in 2022, was designed to curb the spiralling violence driven by heavily armed criminal groups. However, conditions in the Caribbean nation have deteriorated further since then.
Initially, the embargo targeted specific weapons, but it was later expanded to include all arms transfers to Haiti, with limited exceptions for shipments intended for local law enforcement agencies and international forces deployed to support them.
In a statement, the Security Council warned that ongoing gang violence continues to undermine the rule of law and respect for human rights, hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid, and could have severe social and economic repercussions. Despite these measures, doubts remain about the effectiveness of the sanctions in restoring stability.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has long suffered from entrenched criminal activity, including killings, looting, and kidnappings, all compounded by chronic political turmoil.
The situation sharply worsened in early 2024 when coordinated gang assaults forced then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.
The UN also imposed travel bans and asset freezes on two individuals: Dimitri Herard, the former head of presidential security at the time of President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in 2021, and gang leader Argentine “Kempes” Sanon. The United States announced on Friday that it would follow suit with similar sanctions against both men.
Herard and Sanon join nine other sanctioned individuals and two criminal organizations, including the notorious “G9 an Fanmi” alliance led by Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, already on the UN sanctions list.
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