UN Security Council renews sanctions on Côte d’Ivoire, bars diamond exports

With the Côte d’Ivoire still split in half between the Government and rebel forces, the United Nations Security Council today renewed for another year the arms embargo and the travel and financial restrictions applied to those deemed to threaten peace there, while also deciding to ban imports of rough diamonds from the country.

Through a resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-member body and acting under the binding Chapter VII of the UN charter, the Council reaffirmed its readiness to impose the individual restrictions it outlined in November 2004 on anyone designated by the Council Committee set up to oversee the sanctions to have impeded the peace process, to be responsible for serious violations of human rights, to have publicly incited hatred and violence, or to have violated the arms embargo.

The arms sanctions require all countries to prevent the "direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer" to Côte d'Ivoire of arms or any related materiel.

The personal restrictions threaten to ban anyone "who constitute a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process" from travelling abroad, and "freeze the funds, other financial assets and economic resources" of those designated.

The Government rules the southern part of the world's largest cocoa producer and the armed opposition controls the north. UN peacekeeping troops and the UN-authorized French Licorne forces are stationed mainly along the Zone of Confidence between the two areas.

A peace agreement of 2003 aimed to end years of ethnic confrontation, which included a failed 2002 coup attempt against President Laurent Gbagbo. It has been expanded or clarified by subsequent accords. Lack of progress in implementing the peace agreements led to a one-year delay of the Ivorian elections that had been scheduled for last month.

In October, the Council expressed serious concern over the deteriorating situation in the country, condemned attacks on United Nations peacekeeping personnel and called on all the parties to implement immediately all the peace accords they have signed.

It had also demanded that the Forces Nouvelles armed opposition and all militias proceed without delay with the national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme so as to help restore State authority throughout the national territory, reunify the country and allow the organization of the postponed elections as soon as possible.