Security Council Extends Côte d’Ivoire Diamonds Embargo
October 30, 08
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to renew for another year a ban on diamonds and an arms embargo against Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Travel restrictions will also be applied.
The Council said it would review these measures next October to determine whether progress has been made in putting key aspects of the peace process into place and positive steps made in the long-delayed elections.
The Ouagadougou Agreement – signed in neighboring Burkina Faso last March between the Government and the rebel Forces Nouvelles, which control the north – called for a number of measures to resolve the crisis that divided the country six years ago.
The resolution also extended by another year the mandate of the group of experts established to monitor sanctions against the country.
A recent report by Partnership Africa Canada said large scale trade in illicit diamonds still exists in Africa, noting in particular the West African country. The rebel held areas in the north have alluvial diamond mines.