The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Friday on a resolution that calls on all countries to stop the transfer of small arms, light weapons and ammunition to any party supporting gang violence and criminal activity in Haiti, which has seen an upsurge in bloodshed and kidnappings.
The draft by the United States and Mexico does not include an arms embargo as China sought. Other council members said an embargo would be unenforceable.
The back and forth came in negotiations over a resolution to extend the mandate for the U.N. political mission in Haiti. The council’s previous authorization for the mission expires Friday.
A year after President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination last July, gang violence is even worse, and Haiti has gone into a freefall that has seen the economy tumble and many Haitians flee the country to escape the turmoil. At the same time, attempts to form a coalition government have faltered, and efforts to hold general elections have stalled.
This week, officials in Haiti’s capital reported that dozens of people had died as a result of days of fighting between rival gangs in the violent Cite Soleil neighborhood. Doctors Without Borders said thousands of people were trapped in the district without drinking water, food and medical care.
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