Annan names four experts to panel probing Liberia's compliance with sanctions

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed four experts to conduct a follow-up assessment mission of Liberia's compliance with Security Council sanctions levied against the West African nation in a bid to end the country's support for a rebel group in Sierra Leone.

In a letter to the Council President, the Secretary-General informs the 15-member body that he has named Atabou Bodia of Senegal, Johan Peleman of Belgium, Harjit Singh Sandhu of India and Alex Vines of the United Kingdom to the panel.

Last week, the Council unanimously voted to re-establish the panel to look into and compile a brief independent audit of the Government's observance of a Council resolution adopted in 2001 and to report on its findings no later than 8 April.

That resolution called for Liberia to end financial and military support to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone, to expel rebel members from the country and to prohibit their activity on its territory.

By the same text, the Council also imposed an arms embargo on Liberia, restricted its diamond exports and banned the country's senior officials from travelling abroad, except for humanitarian reasons.