China requested the UN Security Council to vote an embargo to the sale of light weapons to Haiti, opening a possible confrontation with the United States this Friday, which is preparing a draft with Mexico without incorporating the Chinese proposal.
Council members are due to debate whether to renew the UN political mission in Haiti that expires on Friday night, but it remains to be seen whether China will veto the resolution.
China has in recent years become a prominent actor on Haiti-related issues at the UN, in particular for the recognition made by the country of Taiwan, which for China is part of its own territory.
“The situation in Haiti cannot be worse. While we are discussing here, gang violence is escalating in Port-au-Prince,” said a spokeswoman for the Chinese mission.
“An arms embargo against gangs is the least the government can do. Council in response to this appalling decision,” he added, reiterating China’s proposal to member countries to ban the sale of small arms.
But a revised text prepared by the United States and Mexico that was finalized in the early hours of Friday, to which AFP had access, instead proposes that “member states prohibit the shipment of small arms, light weapons and ammunition to non-state actors involved in in violence or support gangs.
Gang violence is on the rise in this Caribbean country, which is also suffering from gasoline shortages and rising food prices. This week alone, 89 people were murdered in Port-au-Prince.
Aid agencies say access is dangerous.
– Haiti and Taiwan –
Diplomatic sources indicated that China also asked the Council to sanction the leaders of the gangs, in addition to sending a regional police force to the country.
According to a draft to which AFP had access, the sanctions include a travel ban and an asset freeze.
In general, countries with ties to China refrain from having official relations with Taiwan.
However, China denies that its position is related to the Taiwan issue.
A Chinese diplomatic source told AFP that it is necessary to pressure Haiti’s political authorities to act and threaten those responsible for the violence with sanctions.
The United States is not necessarily against such sanctions, but believes they should be adequate, said a Washington diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The delegate noted that there would be little point in enforcing an arms embargo without a UN sanctions committee or group of experts overseeing it, adding that more information on proposed sanctions against certain individuals is needed to discuss the issue.
Extreme poverty and widespread violence force many Haitians to flee to neighboring Dominican Republic, located on the same island, or to the United States.
The Security Council is debating whether to extend the UN political mission in Haiti until 2023.
The vote was scheduled for Wednesday, but with the debate focused on the Chinese proposal Council members deferred this item to this Friday.