§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the role played by small arms provided by other states during recent violence in Haiti. [161212]
208W
§ Mr. RammellThe proliferation of small arms is of particular concern in Haiti. However, it is difficult to assess the extent of the problem of proliferation and the source of the weapons as the quality of record keeping and standards of import controls in Haiti is very poor. Furthermore with no British embassy in Port-au-Prince our assessments are limited.
Regionally, the UK is providing relevant support to the CARICOM Task Force on Crime and Security, of which Haiti is a member. Last year we commissioned a report on the problem, which highlighted a series of recommendations to help address the issue. This report was presented to the CARICOM in February 2004.