San Juan, Puerto Rico – A constant flow of illegal weapons Smuggling in Haiti is feeding an increase in gang violence and that leads to severe human rights abuse, according to a UN report published on Thursday.
More than 4,200 people died from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured, according to the report. He was issued after William O’Neill, an expert from the UN Human Rights Commissioner in Haiti, recently visited the problematic Caribbean country.
While much of the violence has been unleashed by gangs that formed a coalition last year known as ” Live together“,” An increasing number of people is being killed by personal defense groups And the mobs, including at least 77 alleged gang members killed in November after armed men tried to attack a community in the capital of Prince Port-AU, according to the report.
He also discovered that the number of people killed and injured by the authorities fighting gangs “remained extremely high.”
More than 2,000 people were killed during police operations from July to February, an increase of 60% compared to 1,253 murders reported from February to July 2024.
According to the reports, about 73% of the victims killed by the police were gang members, but 27% “were not associated with gangs already were often beaten by lost bullets while they were in the streets or at home,” the report said. He pointed out that in some cases, the police opened fire from armored vehicles “where people walked or sold products in the streets.”
He also said that the police have participated in summary executions of alleged gang members, their families, “or the people who, when they intercepted, could not provide identification or offer sufficient explanation for their presence in the area.”
The report declared that almost 1,000 firearms belonging to the National Police of Haiti have been diverted in the last four years, and that credible sources have said that officers are selling some weapons in the black market.
A police spokesman did not respond immediately by requesting comments.
The report says that gangs also obtain illegal weapons from private security companies that use them.
In general, it is estimated that 270,000 to 500,000 illegal weapons circulate between Haiti.
“The use of these firearms has fed a destructive cycle of violence in Haiti, which leads to serious human rights abuses,” the report said.
Detecting and seizing illegal weapons remains a challenge given what the report said it was a severe sub -financing and a lack of personnel in the customs and Haiti police departments, as well as the lack of resources and technology, together with corruption and lack of supervision.
He pointed out that a UN mission led By Kenya’s police to help fight gangs in Haiti It has only about 40% of the personnel of 2,500 preview.
A Keyan Offcer, Samuel Tomi Kaeuai, He was killed in February in the Central Artibonite region of Haiti. A second officer, identified by the Government of Haiti as Benedict Kabiru, is considered dead After it disappeared When the gangs attacked their group on Monday while trying to rescue the Haitian police trapped in a ditch that officials believe that the gunmen were excavated on purpose.
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