UN vote delayed on sanctions to curb Haiti violence, crime

UNITED NATIONS (AP):

Supporters of a UN resolution that would demand an immediate end to violence and criminal activity in Haiti and impose sanctions on influential gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, nicknamed ‘Barbecue’, said Wednesday a vote has been delayed.

The Security Council vote had been called for the afternoon but key Security Council members confirmed the postponement for a few days. France’s UN Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere told reporters earlier: “I’m not sure the vote will be today ... it could take a little more.”

The sanctions measure is the first of two resolutions on Haiti sponsored by the United States and Mexico to be considered by the UN’s most powerful body. A second resolution, which is still being worked on, would authorise an international force to help improve security in the country in response to an October 7 request from Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the council Monday that Moscow can’t support “attempts to push through a sanctions resolution” and agreed to look into imposing restrictive measures only after considering their “efficiency”, targeted nature and humanitarian consequences.

The sanctions resolution names Cherizier, but would also impose sanctions on other Haitian individuals and groups whose actions threaten the peace, security or stability of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, according to the final draft obtained by AP.

Daily life in Haiti began to spin out of control last month just hours after Henry said fuel subsidies would be eliminated, causing prices to double. Gangs blocked the entrance to the Varreux fuel terminal, leading to a severe shortage of fuel at a time when clean water is also scarce and the country is trying to deal with a deadly cholera outbreak.

Cherizier, a former police officer who leads an alliance of Haitian gangs known as the ‘G9 Family and Allies’, would face an international travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo if the resolution is adopted. A Security Council committee would be established to designate other Haitians and groups to be put on a sanctions blacklist.

“Cherizier and his G9 gang confederation are actively blocking the free movement of fuel from the Varreux fuel terminal – the largest in Haiti,” the draft resolution says. “His actions have directly contributed to the economic paralysis and humanitarian crisis in Haiti.”

Cherizier also “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,” the draft resolution says.

While serving in the police, it says, he planned and participated in a deadly attack in November 2018 in the capital’s La Saline neighbourhood where at least 71 people were killed, over 400 houses destroyed and at least seven women raped by armed gangs.

In a video posted on Facebook last week, Cherizier called on the government to grant him and G9 members amnesty and to void all arrest warrants against them. He said in Creole that Haiti’s economic and social situation is worsening by the day, so “there is no better time than today to dismantle the system”.