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Experts monitoring weapons embargo against Somalia extended for six months

Experts monitoring weapons embargo against Somalia extended for six months

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In a bid to continue identifying violators of the 1992 weapons embargo against Somalia and find ways to strengthen compliance, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reappointed the members of an expert panel tracking the ban.

John Tambi of Sierra Leone, Melvin Holt Jr. of the United States, Chansheng Li of China and Joel Salek of Colombia will continue serving on the panel for an additional six months. Mr. Tambi is a transport expert, Mr. Holt has extensive knowledge about arms, Mr. Li is a customs specialist and Mr. Salek is an authority on financial matters.

Mr. Annan's action came in response to a recent Security Council resolution which called on the experts to "continue refining and updating information on the draft list of those who continue to violate the arms embargo inside and outside Somalia, and their active supporters, for possible future measures."

According to the panel's 11 August report, the frontline and neighbouring States - Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen - should implement anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist measures to strengthen the capacity of their financial institutions to trace any funds linked to trafficking and smuggling.

Dhow traffic in the region should be regulated, the report says, while the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in consultation with neighbouring countries and related organizations, should develop a practical monitoring programme for Somalia's 3,200-kilometre coastline, the second longest in Africa.

Though arms transfers by air had dropped in number, Somalia's neighbours should put all their airstrips under the control of their national airport regulators and should more closely monitor their own borders and their vehicular traffic, according to the report.