The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on
Wednesday renewing sanctions aimed at preventing Liberia from
exporting "blood diamonds" or resuming the trade in arms.
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In the resolution, council members agreed that although "sustained
progress" has been made in Liberia since Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
became president in January, the situation in the once war-torn
West African country remained so fragile that it constituted a
threat to regional peace.
Council members agreed to renew the sanctions for six months,
with a review after four months, to give the Liberian Government
sufficient time to establish a transparent and internationally
verifiable regime for trade in the rough diamonds.
The council also called for the sanctions on the trade in arms
to be extended for another 12 months, with a waiver for supplies of
certain non-lethal military equipment intended solely for the
Liberian police and security forces.
Both the arms and diamond sanctions have been in place since
2001. The diamond ban is aimed at stopping Liberia's trade in
diamonds, which were used for many years to finance wars against
governments across Africa.
The 15-nation council called on Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
reappoint the Panel of Experts overseeing the ban.
The Panel of Experts' most recent report said the Liberian
Government cannot yet demonstrate the internal controls necessary
to meet the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, the
internationally agreed system designed to prevent blood diamonds
from entering the market.
In the resolution adopted Wednesday, the Security Council also
extends for a year a travel ban on named individuals in Liberia and
an asset freeze against former president Charles Taylor and his top
aides.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)
