Angola: Annan reappoints 4 experts to UNITA sanctions panel

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has re-appointed four experts to serve on a panel monitoring sanctions against the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

The “monitoring mechanism” will continue to be staffed by Christine Gordon of the United Kingdom, Ismaila Seck of Senegal, Wilson Chisala Kalumba of Zambia and the chair, Ambassador Juan Larrain of Chile, according to a letter from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

The Security Council originally imposed sanctions against UNITA in 1993 for the rebel group’s failure to carry out obligations under peace accords signed with the Angolan Government. Since then, the Council has tightened the sanctions by a series of subsequent resolutions.

In May 1999, the Council established an independent panel of experts “to trace violations in arms trafficking, oil supplies and the diamond trade, as well as the movement of UNITA funds.” The following April, after considering the final report of the panel, the Council adopted resolution 1295 (2000), by which it tightened existing sanctions and established the new monitoring mechanism.