UN warns of 'severe' human rights abuses in Haiti as illegal weapons proliferate

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A steady stream of illegal weapons smuggled into Haiti is fueling an increase in gang violence and leading to severe human rights abuses, according to a U.N. report released Thursday.

More than 4,200 people were killed from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured, the report found. It was issued after William O’Neill, the U.N. human rights commissioner’s expert on Haiti, recently visited the troubled Caribbean country.

While much of the violence has been unleashed by gangs who formed a coalition last year known as “ Viv Ansamn,” a growing number of people are being killed by self-defense groups and mobs, including at least 77 suspected gang members slain in November after gunmen tried to attack a community in the Port-au-Prince capital, the report stated.

It also found that the number of people killed and injured by authorities fighting gangs “remained extremely high.”

More than 2,000 people were killed during police operations from July to February, a 60% increase compared with the 1,253 killings reported from February to July of 2024.

Some 73% of victims killed by law enforcement were reportedly gang members, but 27% “were not associated with gangs and were often struck by stray bullets while in the streets or at home,” the report said. It noted that in some cases, police opened fire from armored vehicles “where people were walking or selling goods on the streets.”

It also said police have been reportedly involved in summary executions of suspected gang members, their families, “or individuals who, when intercepted, were unable to provide identification or offer a sufficient explanation for their presence in the area.”

The report stated that nearly 1,000 firearms belonging to Haiti’s National Police have been diverted in the past four years, and that credible sources have said officers are selling some weapons on the black market.

A police spokesperson did not immediately return a message requesting comment.

The report said gangs also obtain illegal weapons from private security companies that use them.

Overall, an estimated 270,000 to 500,000 illegal weapons are circulating across Haiti.

“The use of these firearms has fueled a destructive cycle of violence in Haiti, leading to severe human rights abuses,” the report stated.

Detecting and seizing illegal weapons remains a challenge given what the report said was severe underfunding and understaffing at Haiti's customs and police departments, as well as a lack of resources and technology coupled with corruption and lack of oversight.

It noted that a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to help fight gangs in Haiti has only about 40% of the 2,500 personnel envisioned.

One Kenyan officer, Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai, was killed in February in Haiti’s central Artibonite region. A second officer, identified by Haiti’s government as Benedict Kabiru, is considered dead after he went missing when gangs attacked his group on Monday as they tried to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch that officials believe was dug on purpose by gunmen.

____

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america