Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho, at the UNSC meeting on Haiti - October 20th, 2022

Mr. President,

We remain deeply concerned with the situation in Haiti. We truly hope that the resolution adopted today will have an effective impact on the ground. We believe that prohibiting the transfer of small arms, light weapons and ammunition to non-State actors in Haiti and imposing appropriate measures against those engaging or supporting violence, including an asset freeze and a travel ban, may help curb the escalation of violence in the country.

The UN Charter provides the Security Council with a set of instruments to maintain international peace and security, sanctions being one among them. Sanctions can be legitimate and effective when they are multilaterally created, strategically targeted and designed to have minimal impact on the civilian population.

As with any coercive measure, however, they may have unintended consequences. That is why, during the negotiations, Brazil strived to include monitoring mechanisms, listing criteria, humanitarian exemptions and carve-outs, and the conditions for lifting the sanctions. We consider all these parameters essential in order to apply such measures in a responsible and effective manner.

We welcome that a humanitarian carve-out was added to the text. Humanitarian actors must be able to provide assistance to civilians in need. If they are not able to perform humanitarian and impartial relief actions due to over-compliance or the criminalization of their activities, the most vulnerable will be the first ones to endure the consequences. While recognizing the specificity of each sanction regime, we encourage that the carve-out adopted today be replicated to other situations, in a horizontal manner.

Mr. President,

The Security Council has come some way in improving its sanctions regimes, with the transition to targeted sanctions, the creation of humanitarian exemptions, and the establishment of monitoring mechanisms through panels of experts. However, there is an ongoing need to ensure minimum standards of due process, in line with international human rights law instruments. Due process challenges continue to affect the effectiveness of UN sanctions.

In this regard, we regret that the Council missed the opportunity, in this resolution, to address this challenge. The extension of the Ombudsperson mandate to the present sanctions regime or the creation of an equivalent review mechanism to independently examine delisting requests could have strengthened due process in UN sanctions. Ultimately, this step would have strengthened also the effectiveness of the Council by minimizing the risk of having its decisions challenged in domestic or international tribunals by listed entities and individuals.

We take note that a reference to the Office of the Ombudsperson was incorporated as a preambular paragraph and we look forward to further advancing the important issue of due process both in this sanctions regime, as well as in other UN sanctions regimes in a horizontal manner.

Mr. President,

Setting-up a new sanctions regime in the UNSC, after five years, is a huge responsibility and sets the precedent for future action in the Council.  This is why we would have welcomed a more transparent and interactive process of negotiation, in order to address fully all outstanding issues.

Mr. President,

Although we believe that more could have been achieved if we had had more time for in-depth debate, we hope that this resolution will encourage and foster positive developments.

In closing, I would also like to reaffirm that Brazil`s commitment to Haiti is unwavering and that we are not oblivious to the suffering of the Haitian people.