Growing political unrest and the long-running dispute among political players opposing the rule of President Jean Beltran-Aristide came to a head early this year. On 7 January, armed gangs shot at and terrorised civilians at a political demonstration, with the apparent collusion and in some cases contribution of the National Police.

In early February, armed attackers opened fire on police headquarters in Gonaives and St. Marc, where government buildings, as well as the town's port were subsequently looted. There are reports that these groups may be part of a government-sponsored effort to quell an imminent insurrection.

Further outbreaks of violence were registered in some ten cities and have resulted in at least 40 deaths and many more injuries, according to news reports.

Routine problems with gathering official numbers have been exacerbated by disruption of telephone and road access during the skirmishes. The blockages have also meant that much needed humanitarian and food aid cannot reach the country. At the same time, ongoing violence has displaced thousands to other cities or to neighboring Dominican Republic .

The tragic situation in Haiti points up a number of the chief concerns with small arms proliferation and misuse that IANSA members are working to stop all over the world. Guns are being used to spread fear and coerce Haitians to 'support' conflicting political objectives. Civilians and particularly children and adolescents have been caught in the crossfire, and may also feel pressure to take up arms themselves. Humanitarian aid and relief efforts are being impeded because of gun violence, while schools and commerce are disrupted, further hampering development.

8-13 June 2003, IANSA members Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) http://www.geneva.quno.info/ and AFSC http://www.afsc.org/ hosted a regional small arms meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti entitled Small Arms Demand in the Caribbean: Special Focus on Haiti and Youth Issues. Interventions by several Haitian and other Caribbean organisations foreshadowed the current violent turmoil. Participants said that there were no reliable estimates of the number of guns in circulation, or even the number of people injured and wounded by guns in the country. There appears to be a serious problem with gun smuggling into Haiti, especially weapons from the US. Participants also reported that children were armed by political factions to terrorise local communities. The police and justice systems are seen as heavily corrupt and inefficient, and did not hold accountable those responsible for violence. According to the workshop report, ‘Recent studies by NGOs note unacceptably large numbers of violent crimes, often associated with political figures and peaking around moments of political instability.’ Click here to read the report from the meeting.

An activist from AFSC's Haitian field office wrote a brief report contextualising the recent escalation in armed violence in Haiti. Read the report here.

More information can be found at:

Alterpresse, an alternative news site on current events in Haiti (French and Haitian Creole)

Haiti Support Group (English)

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Latin America and Caribbean Program

Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO)

Children and Organized Armed Violence website

All images on this page from Alterpresse.