The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday noted the ongoing political process in Haiti, while expressing concerns over the persistent gang violence, with Chinese envoy urging the U.S. to tighten its control of ammunition to Haiti.
María Isabel Salvador, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), told the Security Council that the deployment of the first group of Kenyan Police officers for the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) "is an important step in the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2699 and brings renewed hope to the people of Haiti."
Nevertheless, she said that "alarming levels of violence remain a source of great concern" as "indiscriminate gun violence has been consistently spreading beyond the capital to other regions of the country."
The gangs' recurrent attacks since 29 February have severely hampered national and international efforts to fast track the recruitment process of new police officers and attrition rates in the National Police continue to be high, said the representative.
China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong echoed Salvador on the positive changes in Haiti in recent months, but underscored the persistent severity of the crisis.
Fu called for further advancement of Haiti's political process, elimination of gang violence, and enhanced U.S. control over ammunition exports.
"We are concerned about the latest report from the Secretary-General indicating that the Haitian police recently seized a batch of weapons and ammunition from the United States in Cap-Haitien. China calls for the effective implementation of the Security Council's arms embargo on Haiti, urging the United States to enhance ammunition control and calling on regional countries to strengthen information sharing and coordinated action to cut off illegal channels through which gangs obtain weapons and ammunition," Fu said.
The envoy stressed that Haitian people's efforts are the solution to the Haiti situation, not the external assistance from the UN or the international community, who have tried various methods over the past 30 years.
Fu said the most important task is to create conditions for the BINUH to fully resume operations as soon as possible and to continue playing a role in assisting Haiti's political process.
Chinese envoy urges US to tighten control of ammunition to Haiti
