Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Banner Left
Banner Right

UN on Liberia: Sanctions stay

UN on Liberia: Sanctions stay

NEW YORK – Liberia still cannot adequately track diamond mining on its territory, say United Nations experts, recommending the security council leave in place its ban on Liberian diamond exports.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had pushed hard for an end to the five-year-old diamond embargo, saying the money from gem sales was badly needed to finance reconstruction in her war-ravaged West African country. But, the panel of outside experts told the security council that Liberia had not yet met the requirements of the Kimberley Process, a programme intended to prevent so-called blood diamonds from entering the mainstream diamond market.The panel said: “Although most of the necessary components are now in hand, they still require final arrangement into a coherent and functioning mechanism with long-term durability and credibility.”LIBERIA’S DIAMOND-FUELLED CIVIL WAR It said: “Achieving this objective will require stronger leadership, especially by the minister of lands, mines and energy, as well as the effective ongoing management of human, financial and material resources.”The embargo was imposed in 2001, two years before the end of Liberia’s 14-year diamond-fuelled civil war.The council said it could lift the ban only after the government had in place the controls on gem sales demanded by the Kimberley Process, which required participating governments to provide certificates for exports of rough diamonds to show they were mined from legitimate operations.The initiative between the governments, the diamond industry and civic groups, launched in 2002, aimed at ending the global trade in rough diamonds to finance wars against legitimate governments, as in Angola, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.According to the expert panel, with war behind it and a new government in place, Liberia “has enjoyed a fragile peace” and is improving its management of state finances.It said that it faced enormous reconstruction challenges and the government had been slow to demonstrate its campaign commitment to zero tolerance for corruption.Nampa-ReutersBut, the panel of outside experts told the security council that Liberia had not yet met the requirements of the Kimberley Process, a programme intended to prevent so-called blood diamonds from entering the mainstream diamond market.The panel said: “Although most of the necessary components are now in hand, they still require final arrangement into a coherent and functioning mechanism with long-term durability and credibility.”LIBERIA’S DIAMOND-FUELLED CIVIL WAR It said: “Achieving this objective will require stronger leadership, especially by the minister of lands, mines and energy, as well as the effective ongoing management of human, financial and material resources.”The embargo was imposed in 2001, two years before the end of Liberia’s 14-year diamond-fuelled civil war.The council said it could lift the ban only after the government had in place the controls on gem sales demanded by the Kimberley Process, which required participating governments to provide certificates for exports of rough diamonds to show they were mined from legitimate operations.The initiative between the governments, the diamond industry and civic groups, launched in 2002, aimed at ending the global trade in rough diamonds to finance wars against legitimate governments, as in Angola, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.According to the expert panel, with war behind it and a new government in place, Liberia “has enjoyed a fragile peace” and is improving its management of state finances.It said that it faced enormous reconstruction challenges and the government had been slow to demonstrate its campaign commitment to zero tolerance for corruption.Nampa-Reuters

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News